


Fall Au

by katrinawritesthings



Series: Fall Au [1]
Category: SHINee
Genre: Asexual, Bisexual, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, NB, Other, Pansexual, Polyamory, Trans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2018-12-31 08:18:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 26,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12128352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katrinawritesthings/pseuds/katrinawritesthings
Summary: 26 Day Fall Writing Challenge that i,,, forgot,,, to post when i backposted everything else lmaowithwsstaem+blue jong+jpn replay gwi+longhairminjung+jojo eunsook





	1. All Together (Back to School)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka school bells are loud garbage

****The soil is loose and damp underneath Taemin’s hands and he hums lowly, wiggling his fingers deeper into the ground just to appreciate it. He closes his eyes and smiles, breathing deep it’s crisp, sweet scent, letting it permeate his body from his nose to his lungs and into his brain where it honestly feels like it could give him a high. He almost wants to rest his cheek against the ground so he can inhale even more of it, but past experiences have taught him that that is a bad and painful idea. He just keeps moving his hands through it instead, clumping it up in his palms, breaking it up with his fingertips, biting his lip at how nice it feels under his nails. He loves. **  
**

“Taem?”

“Yeah?” he calls back, not taking his eyes off of the dirt shifting around his fingers. He doesn’t need to see Jonghyun to answer him.

“It literally looks like you wanna put your dick into the ground right now.”

Alright, what the fuck. Taemin splutters, cheeks growing hot as he looks back towards the cabin. Jonghyun stands there on the back porch, arms crossed under his fitted sweater and brow cocked under blue hair with the most amused smirk on his lips. Roo peeps around his ankles and also looks just as judging as her human does. Taemin huffs.

“I’m-- _gardening,_ ” he says, gesturing at the rest of the space between him and Jonghyun. The carrots he just finished watering, the pumpkins growing steadily in their patch, the tall plum tree sapling that he  _literally just_  put into the hole he dug earlier. Before he started pushing all of the dirt back over it, and before he started pushing his fingers through it, loving it under his hands, wanting to press his face into it…. “Listen, just, shut your fuck,” he snaps, frowning even more when Jonghyun laughs into his hand. He snaps his knees together too before his dick even thinks about growing from a semi to a full boner. He does not need that right now. “What did you want to tell me?” he asks.

“Gwi’s gonna be here soon,” Jonghyun says. Taemin gasps softly, annoyance immediately forgotten. Kibummie. He loves. Almost as quickly as he registers that happiness, though, it’s replaced by confusion.

“I didn’t know they were coming over?” he says, tilting his head. “Is she okay?” The only time they ever visit unplanned is when something in the city causes her headaches to start tipping over into migraine territory. Jonghyun frowns back.

“I--did I forget to tell you?” he asks. He digs in his pocket for his phone as Taemin puffs up his lips. He doesn’t remember. “About the school changing its bell schedule and her not knowing when it was going to happen and--”

“Oh, oh, no, I remember now,” Taemin says quickly. He flaps a hand to let Jonghyun know he doesn’t need to search his texts. “You told me, yeah.” He just forgot. Not exactly a rare occurrence.

“Okay, well, good,” Jonghyun says. He puts his hand on his chest and smiles with relief as he slots his phone back into his pocket. “They just hit the little gas station outside of the forest, so, like, twenty minutes tops. Also, you’re really cute.” He winks so quickly that Taemin barely sees it.

“Got it,” Taemin grins anyway, lifting his hand in a thumbs up. Him, super cute. Noted. And also, twenty minutes. He can totally finish planting this tree in that time. He won’t be able to write up her little namecard, but he’ll forget about that and remember it another time anyway. He sets to work finishing up what he was doing.

Pushing all of his dirt back into a mound over the tree, he pats it gently and sets the hose over it on a slow trickle. Then he brushes dirt off of his hands and sets seven alarms on his phone to come back and turn off the water later. Standing up straight, pushing his light brown hair back, and swatting dirt off of his jeans, he smiles happily down at his new tree. Nice. She’s gonna be big and tall in no time.

Inside, he pauses on his way down the hallway to the laundry room to wash the dirt on his hands. He stands outside of Minjung’s door and thinks for just a second before knocking gently.

“Hey,” he whispers, pushing the door open just slightly after she hums an okay. He smiles at her in there, more of a mini lab than a bedroom, hunched over her microscope and scribbling some notes. Adorable. He loves. “Can I come in?” he asks, and smiles wide when she nods. Nice. He closes the door behind him and slips over to her chair, smile growing even more when she swivels it to face him.

“Your hands are dirty,” she says, but makes no protest when Taemin sits himself down in her lap. He slips his dirty hands around her already dirty labcoat and presses his mouth against hers in a soft kiss. Kisses with Minjung are always warm and slow and he sighs against her, melting happily so his cold chest can press on her warm one. Being so close makes him hum, makes him shift even closer to minimize the distance between them. She’s scheduled for more sciency stuff out in the forest for a few weeks starting Monday and he’s going to miss this.

“Did you know that Kibummie’s gonna be here soon?” he asks. He moves to kiss and nibble on her jaw so she can answer, thumb rubbing over the side of her neck.

“Mmhmm,” she says. “Fifteen minutes ish.”

“Are you gonna say hi?” he asks quietly. This time he moves down to drag his lips over her neck.

“Mmmh,” she hums, her uncomfortable noise. “Tell her to come say hi to me later.” She shrugs under him and Taemin nods. Even on her most social days she usually doesn’t like more than two people at a time. He gets it.

“You know,” he says quietly, slipping one hand to the open collar of her lab coat. He sucks lightly on her neck and hums when he feels her hand in his hair. “You don’t really  _need_ this on in here.” He pushes it off of one shoulder and presses his lips to the bit of skin it exposed. She never has chemicals or anything in this house. They all stay at her bases and labs in the forest with all of the other scientists. She just wears it to be cool. His hand trails down the shirt under it until he can slip his fingers underneath. “You don’t really need any of these clothes,” he murmurs. He pushes his hand down further, feeling up her left thigh, rubbing up to look for her cock under the boxers she stole from Jinki.

“Taem,” she says, and her voice is fond and amused but still flat. Her hand closes around his wrist and tugs it away. “We are not having a quickie two minutes before Key gets here.” She puts a hand on his chest next and pushes him back, meeting him with raised brows and a frown that’s trying to be stern but just comes off as exasperated. “She’s coming here to  _avoid_  anxiety attacks?” Minjung reminds him. Taemin sighs, pouts, nods, grumbles.

“Fifteen minutes isn’t two minutes,” he mumbles, but stands up anyway. He fixes her lab coat and bends obediently when she tugs him down for another quick kiss. “I’m gonna go wash up,” he says, and boops her cheek before leaving the room. He slips quickly into the laundry room to wash his hands in the sink, then slips into the little bathroom to fix up his hair. His roots are growing in too far because he keeps forgetting to dye it again, but whatever. He’s still a babe.

And speaking of babes, when he walks into the front room, he finds another one sprawled out on the couch. Jinki’s hands are tucked behind his head, one leg hooked over the back of the couch and the other dangling onto the floor, red plaid buttonup and dark jeans and a beanie fallen off onto the armrest. The tv plays the show that’s usually on  _after_  Jinki’s favorite and his eyes are closed in a slow nap. Taemin smiles watching his chest rise and fall. He loves.

He invites himself over there, getting between Jinki’s legs and lowering his head onto his chest. He’s lovely and sturdy and warm, smelling like pine and wood and smoke, and Taemin squeezes him tight with a happy hum.

“Oof,” Jinki says, and a heavy hand falls onto Taemin’s back. Taemin looks up; Jinki looks down, one eye cracked open and the sleepiest smile on his lips. “Hey, Tae,” he says. He pats Taemin’s head affectionately in a gesture that only messes up Taemin’s hair more, but Taemin doesn’t mind.

“Hi Jinki,” he says, watching him open wide in a big yawn. He says something during that that Taemin doesn’t catch, so he reaches up to rub his thumb over his cheek in askance.

“Eunsook,” he says when he finishes yawning. “Not Jinki.”

“Oh,” Taemin says, and then, “ _oh,_ ” he says again. Shit. He fucked up. “Did--didn’t you say? Jinki? Earlier? Fuck, did I forget?” He scrambles for his phone to check, just to make absolutely sure of the gender that Eunsook texted him that morning, but before he can, she puts her hand on his face.

“I changed my mind,” she says, patting his cheek. “Like, half an hour ago.”

“Oh,” Taemin says. This time it’s a heavy breath of relief and he smiles weakly under her amused gaze. “Okay.” It’s one of those days. Good. He didn’t fuck up.

“Gwiboonie here yet?” Eunsook asks, stretching her arms over her head before letting them fall loosely around Taemin’s waist. Taemin shakes his head.

“Ten minutes,” he says. Eunsook nods back and taps her fingers on Taemin’s shirt lazily. Taemin rests his head on her chest, poking his finger into one of the spaces between buttons on her flannel jacket. He pokes at her binder absentmindedly for a moment before realization hits him with a soft gasp. If she’s fluided her way into femme then she might be comfortable with him loving up on the titty. “Hey,” he murmurs, smoothing his hand over her chest with a hopeful smile. He shifts up more so he can lowkey rub his zipper on her thigh. “Would you, maybe, be down, for a quickie of sorts?” he asks, cocking a brow and letting his mouth curve into the smirk that he knows she loves.

The look she gives him is nothing short of incredulous. She laughs softly, shaking her head and patting his back.

“I’ve been home two days and you’ve spent the whole time wanting to get on my dick,” she grins. Taemin shrugs shamelessly. His hypersexual ass can’t help it.

“The neon green vibrating dick, specifically,” he says, which just makes her laugh even more.

“Trust me,” she says. “I’m not leaving to go camping again next week without getting into this ass.” She moves her hands down to squeeze Taemin through his jeans, making him hiss and grip her buttonup tightly. “But not today,” she says, and tilts his chin up for a chaste kiss. Taemin pouts.

“No touching my booty if you’re not gonna do anything with it,” he mumbles sadly. Eunsook laughs again, pats his butt once, and pushes him gently up.

“I’m gonna clean up before Gwi gets here,” she says, and leaves him flopped out on the couch with an even bigger semi than when he lowkey wanted to fuck the ground earlier. He sighs, sitting up straight and pushing his hair out of his face. Looks like he’ll have go figure out how to get rid of--ooh.

Jonghyun is leaning up against the front door where he wasn’t before, fingers peeping out of his long sweater sleeves to tap on his phone. Roo is gone, probably all snuggled up in Jonghyun’s room for a nap, but Jonghyun is still as cute as a button over there with his blue hair, ripped jeans, silver earrings. Taemin watches him bite his lip with a soft smile. He loves.

He drifts over there, nuzzles Jonghyun’s shoulder, and presses a kiss to his cheek.

“So, hey,” he says, and slips his finger gently into Jonghyun’s back pocket. “Wanna--”

“No,” Jonghyun says, so suddenly and matter-of-factly that it doesn’t even make Taemin pout. It surprises a laugh out of him, loud and breathy, and he leans his weight on Jonghyun with his head on his shoulder while he waits for it to pass. Holy shit. Jonghyun’s arm comes around his waist and he’s grinning himself when Taemin finally lifts his head to press a kiss to his cheek.

“What, are you like a negative three or something?” he asks. Jonghyun never just straight up rejects him before he can even ask unless he’s feeling extra repulsed. Jonghyun snorts, shaking his head.

“More like a regular three,” he says, “but. Gwi’s only a few minutes away.” He lifts his phone to show Taemin the little GPS app locked onto Kibummie’s location.

“Ahh,” Taemin says, watching her car take the slow curves through the trees of the forest. Well, alright then. He’s lost this bonerquest. He doesn’t think he ever really had a fighting chance, anyway, so he’s not too disappointed. “Welp,” he says, pressing a few more kisses to Jonghyun’s cheek before standing up straight. “I’m gonna go stick an ice cube down my pants and think about bugs before she gets here.” He pats Jonghyun’s butt, turns, and strides to the kitchen, Jonghyun’s snorting giggles following him.

Several minutes of cringing and one very cold, very soft dick later, Taemin slides his way back into the living room just in time to catch Jonghyun opening the door. Nice. Kibummie steps in with a soft smile, her headache smile, the one that means she’s happy to be here but would very much like for everyone to stay as quiet as humanly possible. The poor babe. School starting up again is always rough for them, but they need her apartment in the city to be close to her job. At least she picks her own schedule so she can come here to escape whenever they need to.

Taemin waits for Jonghyun to finish wrapping them up in the gentlest of hugs and for Eunsook to finish kissing her temple before stepping forward himself. Kibummie’s hair is blonde and perfect, her glasses are thick and cute, and her dark jacket somehow swamps them and fits perfectly at the same time. He loves.

“Hey,” he says, letting her right into his arms. He feels them sniffing his neck and grins, patting her shoulder gently. “Hey,” he says again, but this time more as an attention grabber than a greeting.

“What?” Kibummie asks. Taemin felt her wince and her fingers tapping quickly on his jacket so he lowers his voice even more into a smooth purr that would usually pair with his boner if he didn’t just get rid of it.

“You know what’s good about fire alarms and bells and hundreds of screaming kids?” he asks. Kibummie snorts softly and pulls back to look at him with a cocked brow, staying silent and letting that be her question. Taemin wiggles his eyebrows. “We get to spend the night with all five of us,” he says. Just saying it out loud and confirming that has his smile growing as wide as his face. That hardly ever happens; that her schedule, Minjung’s schedule, and Jinki’s schedule all line up. This is nothing short of a miracle, honestly. Kibummie laughs this time, very short and quiet, but still a laugh.

“True,” they say, glancing at Jonghyun and Eunsook with fondness. “Right now, though,” she adds, lifting a hand to her head. “I wanna spend a nap in _silence_.” The pull away from Taemin’s hold and pull her bag more over her shoulder. “Is Ming in her room?” they ask.

“Mmhmm,” Eunsook says. Her voice is a honey smooth tone that Taemin is constantly jealous of, but it’s easy on Kibummie’s head. She hums a little “thanks” and starts shuffling down the hallway, already pulling her ear plugs out of her bag. Taemin watches them go fondly. She’s so cute.

His phone pings at him from his pocket; taking it out, he glances at one of his many reminders. It’s telling him to make sure he put all of his gardening tools away. He hums at it. He honestly can not remember if he did that or not. Stuffing it back into his pocket, he heads outside to go check, closing the door behind him as gently as possible.


	2. tfw u get a boo boo (Preparing for Winter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka taems tryna protect his garden from the Squirrels

****“ _OW--shit_ ,” is the first thing that Jonghyun hears from the garden since Taemin went out there over an hour ago. It’s sudden enough to make him jump and fumble his guitar. He hisses, grabbing for it and struggling to keep it from dropping onto the carpet. He half succeeds; he catches the body firmly but the head kind of dings against one of his speakers.

“Shit,” he mumbles, pulling it up to inspect it. He can’t tell, but he thinks maybe one of the lines turned a hair off. Ugh. Whatever. He retunes it all the time anyway. Roo makes her little whiny noises in her bed next to him, so he gently scritches behind her ears as apology for waking her. After she curls back up to sleep, he gets settled back into his little nest of pillows on the floor, looking back at his little lyric notebook. He was really getting somewhere with this song. All the stuff about being fond of his babes and them always being there for him and shit is making him feel all warm on the inside. He’s fiddling with the knobs to fix the tune when he hears a hiss from outside that makes him start again.

Oh. Right. He pushes his guitar up to gently lie on his bed, gives Roo an advance apology pet, and then wiggles to his knees and pulls the curtains back from the window.

“You okay?” he calls, squinting through the bug screen to find Taemin sitting in the dirt near one of his wooden plant boxes. He’s hunched over, but it doesn’t look like the dying kind of hunched over, so that’s good. He turns with a grumbled noise and a look that’s more annoyed than full of agonizing pain, too, so that’s also good.

“Can you bring me, like, a bandaid?” he calls back. He lifts his hand in front of his face and frowns at it. “Maybe one of the bigger ones? Or--oh, fuck, guh--” He hisses again and quickly holds his hand out over the dirt instead of his pants. Red is very clearly visible over the bottom half of his palm and Jonghyun whines in worry. “You know what,” Taemin says. “Just bring me the first-aid kit.”

Jonghyun leaves his music stuff without a second glance, scuttling to the bathroom to grab the kit and then scuttling out of the back door as fast as his little legs can carry him. Outside, Taemin has switched positions to sit by the faucet connected to the back wall. He holds his hand under a gentle trickle of water and Jonghyun grimaces at the blood he’s washing off into the dirt, but crouches next to him and opens up the kit anyway.

“What happened?” he asks, pouting as he pulls out cotton rounds and disinfectant. Taemin sighs, huffs, frowns at the plant box he was in front of earlier. Glancing over there, Jonghyun sees nails and a hammer and a messy roll of wire mesh strewn over the dirt.

“I’m putting little screens over all of my stuff,” he says. “Because Jinki and Minjung both said there were more squirrels than usual this year. So I’m protecting them  _before_  the little fuckers can eat everything like last year.” His voice gets even grumblier at the end of his sentence and Jonghyun tsks sympathetically. He remembers that. He chances a peek at Taemin’s cut; thankfully, most of the blood is gone and he can see that it’s just a short scratch on his thumb muscle. He takes Taemin’s hand away from the water and quickly dries it before it can start leaking again.

“So what happened again?” he asks, picking up the disinfectant spray.

“Oh, uh,” Taemin says. “I was trying to cut a new piece of mesh but it was-- _ahh, fuck_ \--” he hisses sharply when Jonghyun sprays his wound, but shakes his head at Jonghyun’s pouted apology. “It was just being a fucking anus,” he sighs. “And I got kinda frustrated and somehow managed to, like, slash myself with a corner of it.” He lifts his other hand to rub his nose sheepishly. Jonghyun rolls his eyes but doesn’t make fun. His temper makes him pretty clumsy too. He finishes cleaning the cut, then picks out one of the larger patch bandages. Placing it carefully over the cut, he makes sure it’s stuck down firmly. Then he smiles and presses the tiniest of kisses to it.

“Mwah,” he says, because sound effects make everything better, and Taemin laughs. He boops Jonghyun’s nose before taking his hand back and poking at it gently, curling it into a fist and wincing.

“Guh, I still had like, three more to do,” he sighs. Jonghyun pats his knee sympathetically.

“Remember those little squirrel feeder decoys from last year?” he asks. The ones that they left out in the forest further away from the house to try to divide some of the attention. “We can put together some of those with your hand like this,” he offers. Taemin gasps softly.

“Yeah,” he says. He smiles and boops Jonghyun’s nose again. “Yeah, okay.” He takes the first-aid kit from Jonghyun’s lap and stands up with it. “I’ll have to hit the camping store for some stuff to fill them, though,” he says. Jonghyun nods and uses Taemin’s shirt to tug himself up.

“Can you get some hot chocolate mix too?” he asks. “And some of those scented pinecones. The cinnamon ones.” The best ones. Taemin’s grumbling about the squirrels has reminded him that they need to start stocking up on stuff too before it starts getting expensive in the winter.

“Yeah, sure,” Taemin says, shrugging easily. Jonghyun follows him to the back door, which Taemin whines and kicks feebly at until Jonghyun snorts and opens it up for him. “My phones in my butt pocket,” he says, bumping Jonghyun’s hip with his as he passes. “Put that stuff on the list--actually, no, wait--” He quickens his pace for a few steps when Jonghyun reaches to grab his phone. “Don’t touch my butt, I’ll get a boner,” he mumbles, and Jonghyun muffles his giggles into his hand as he follows him into the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #jongs like why were u putting screens over just ur flowers anyway dont they just eat nuts  
> #and taems like #hhhhhhhhhheheheheh  
> #nut  
> #and jongs like Taemin and taems like no they eat everything bc theyre nibbly lil gremlin assholes  
> #nd jongs like oh of course  
> #also they 100% forget the mesh and nails and hammer and everything out there  
> #and taem remembers at Midnight and just scuttles out there like shit shit shit shit  
> #and brings it all back inside lmao  
> #also when they went back in roo was all pouty and whiny  
> #bc jong woke her up twice nd then just Left for the outside where she doesnt like  
> #so jongtae are like lmao sorry and pick her up and give her many pets nd she is v uwu  
> #also jong was working on warm winter uwu a good song


	3. Weather Lessons (Wind Chill)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka minjung explains some Science

****Mint seeds, a medium flowerpot, a little cactus friend, an obnoxious goggly-eyed garden ornament… Taemin holds all of his stuff precariously in his arms as he looks around the rest of the garden center for Minjung. He frowns when he doesn’t see her anywhere. What the fuck. She was just here.

A gust of wind blows through the open canopy and rustles his clothes, making goosebumps pop up on his bare arms. Shivering, he shuffles back to the taller shelves full of flowerpots and spades in search. He peeps his head into each aisle but finds nothing. Puffing up his lips, he wanders back into the middle of the area and clumsily pulls out his phone. He has her number dialed and calling when he catches the door to the rest of the hardware store opening and her walking out. Oh.

He ends the call, but she still pulls out her phone and frowns at it. When she looks up and scans the area with confusion, he waves meekly.

“You were gone,” he says when they meet up by the rose rows. She nods with a shrug.

“I told you I was going back in really quick,” she says. Taemin frowns for a second. Hmm. He must have forgotten. Whoops. Minjung holds up her basket to show him the new additions. “I remembered we needed new clippers, too,” she grumbles. Taemin nods sympathetically as he lets all of his stuff fall into the basket as well. That new dude at the lab is getting on her last nerve. He remembers  _that._  Taemin is a little disappointed that he won’t be there to see him fuck up something else that finally makes Minjung snap. Another breeze tousles his hair and makes him shudder, exhaling quickly. Right. He was cold.

“It’s so cold,” he says, slipping around to cling to her arm and hold her close for warmth. He rests his cheek on her shoulder and pouts up at her, doing his best to look small and adorable.  _“I’m_ cold,” he pouts. She pats his head blandly and pulls him over to inspect some bags of fertilizer.

“It’s not really _cold,_  technically,” she says. “It’s just the wind. Wind chill,” she adds when Taemin makes a confused noise. He’s in for some learning, he thinks. Wind is cold and that makes it cold, to him, but apparently not to science. “Your body heat is forming a little barrier of insulation around you,” Minjung says. “But then the wind disrupts your epiclimate and replaces all of that warm air with cold air.” She puts her basket on the floor, lugs up one medium bag of fertilizer under her arm, and then picks up the basket again, no problem.

Taemin slowly moves his hand on her other arm from her elbow to her bicep.

“It only feels cold because your body is perceiving it as a sudden drop in temperature,” she continues, pulling him to stand in line at the register, “and trying to overcompensate by making you hotter, and then the wind comes and replaces the warm air again, and then your body thinks it’s even colder than it really is.” She nudges a little pack of gum to fall off of the shelf and into the basket with her pinky and Taemin adds a bag of peppermint candies himself.

“It’s like, what, fifty-two degrees?” she asks, and doesn’t look at him to conform before she goes on. Taemin doesn’t even know anyway. “And the wind feels like, I don’t know, average, so, eight miles per hour, so. Wind chill is something like forty-eight degrees.” She shrugs, lifting her basket onto the counter when the line moves up and dropping the fertilizer behind it. Taemin smiles up at her fondly as she one-handedly arranges things to be neater in the basket.

“You’re so good when you know things,” he hums. Giving him definitions and data and calculations and shit. Adorable. And impressive, and something he’s proud of her for, and also, pretty dang hot. He always thinks that everything is hot, though, so that’s nothing new and nothing he needs to admit in public. That’s Eunsook’s kink, not Minjung’s. She glances at him, smiling in her flattered way, and then does a doubletake.

“Also,” she says, frowning this time. “You’re cold because you wouldn’t bring a jacket.” She pokes his arm sternly and he pouts, wiggling an inch away. “I told you,” she says. Taemin huffs. He knows that she told her before they left.

“Yeah, but, jackets make me sweaty,” he whines. He doesn’t wanna be  _sweaty. He_  told  _her_ that earlier too.

“But now you’re cold,” she tells him. He shrugs.

“I’d rather be cold than sweaty.”

“If you catch a cold from this then that will  _make_ you sweaty.”

“Well,” Taemin says, stepping even closer to his lovely and forgiving girlfriend. “That won’t happen because you’re here to warm me up.” He smiles big and flutters his lashes, winding both of his arms around her one; she rolls her eyes with a heavy sigh.

“Oh my god,” she mutters, and tugs him close to wrap her arm fully around him. Taemin grins, nuzzling her shoulder, smug and warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #listen 2min is pure its just taem bein an egg nd choi sighing nd finding it all so endearing  
> #minjung paps him and gives him a spare jacket when they get back to the car  
> #and he grumps and whines and grumbles about being sweaty  
> #but then she also takes him to mcdonalds nd suddenly shes the most wonderful and lovely human being on the planet  
> #he gets Nuggies nd he is warm and happy  
> #also at the hardware store they get a big bag of reeses pieces for jinki bc thats like the only place they can ever find them  
> #nd jinki Loves them  
> #taem: literally owns nd manages a plant store  
> #also taem: buys plants from a halfass garden center of a hardware store like two blocks away from said plant store  
> #also also taem: need me a girl that can lift me  
> #taem: i know its mostly just memorization and a little math but i am Garbage at both of those nd i am impressed by ur skills  
> #minjung: ooh uwu thank im impressed by ur gardening skills  
> #taem: uwu uwu uwu


	4. a PSL girl (Pumpkin Spice)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4: Pumpkin Spice (aka jong unapologetically loves them)

“Okay.. and…  _you._ You and I, you and I can’t be apart, doo doo doo doo….” Jonghyun winks at himself in the bathroom mirror, framing his smile with one hand and shaking up his shaving cream can with the other. A total babe winks back and him and he smirks even wider under his stubble. Nice. “Yeah, you,” he sings, “ _you you,_ ” and he squirts out two little globs of shaving cream into his palm. “You and I, I’m always waiting for your story….” He trails off on the perfect note, cheeks round with pride as he froths up the cream and spreads it over his face. He hums as he rinses his hands, not knowing the exact words but having the melody pretty much perfect.

“Something something…. How was your day… something… smiling, must be in a good mood,” he mumbles. Picking up his razor, he uses it as a mic for a second: “That’s nice to see; can you tell me your story? Oh, you… you and I. Hmm hmm hmm hmm.” When he starts actually shaving he stops singing. He doesn’t need another careless cut like last time. “ _You you,”_  he whispers between strokes of the razor. That’s his favorite part. He loves himself for coming up with it. “Hmm hmm hmm… always waiting for– _god–jeez, fuck-_ -” He hisses sharply when loud buzzing interrupts his business. The razor slips from his wet fingers; he almost grabs for it but snatches his hand back just in time and lets it just clatter into the sink. He doesn’t need another cut like that either.

His phone buzzes on the counter again and he hisses again, trying to pick up his razor and pat a hand dry and answer the call all at the same time. He manages to poke open the call with his pinky and set it to speakerphone without knocking it off of the counter.

“Hi,” he says, glancing at the razor in his hand. There’s a soap bubble on it. He turns the faucet on to just a quiet trickle so he can hear the voice on the speaker as he rinses it off.

“Hey,” Taemin says back, and there’s a quiet bustle of people behind him. It makes Jonghyun wince but he shakes himself out of it. “I’m at Starbucks,” Taemin says. “Or, well, about to go into Starbucks,” he mumbles.

“Ahh,” Jonghyun says. Yes. He sees. An after work coffee but he’s not that asshole that talks on his phone in the middle of the shop. Good. “Okay,” he says, to let Taemin know that he got that. “Are you telling me this because you wanna get me something because I’m so lovely and wonderful?” he asks hopefully. As Taemin laughs breathily on the other line, Jonghyun grins and lifts his razor to his right cheek. He’ll take that as a yes.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Taemin says, and Jonghyun definitely takes that as a yes. Sweet.

“Pumpkin spice lattes are out by now, right?” he asks. He loves those but he never knows when they become available. A heavy sigh comes from his phone and he snorts just imagining Taemin rolling his eyes out on the sidewalk.

 _“Really?_ ” Taemin asks. “You’re gonna make me be _that_  person that orders a PSL on literally the first day?”

“Ooh,” Jonghyun smiles, giddy and excited. “First day, really?” That’s so cool. “Nice,” he says, “get me a large. Please.”

“God,” Taemin breathes. It’s a fond breath, if a bit exasperated; Jonghyun can tell. “Fine,” Taemin says next. “I’ll get your overrated hipster coffee.”

“You’re a shining star, Taemin,” Jonghyun says. He tilts his head up and talks through a bitten lip so he can shave off the stubble under his chin. He’s excited. He’s gonna be a fresh babe with a fresh coffee soon.

“Yeah, thanks,” Taemin mumbles. Jonghyun smirks at his tone. He can hear the smile in his voice. He must be in a good mood. That’s so nice to hear.

“So, hey,” Jonghyun says, rinsing off his razor again and poking his smooth right side. His song is still fresh in his mind. “How was your day?” he asks. “Tell me everything when you get home.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #is jonghyun shaving at like five at night??? u bet he is  
> #he doesnt have a schedule  
> #he does what he wants when he wants it  
> #a lowkey polygender whirl of freedom nd anxiety  
> #also i wrote this nd then like a week later read that jonghyun does his lyrics before working on the melodies  
> #but u know whatever  
> #taem gets him a pumpkin spice latte nd he is v v v uwu about it bc he loves  
> #its like half an hour cold but w/e still good  
> #taem lies in his lap and naps and then tells jonghyun about his day at work  
> #nd jong paps him gently nd works on some more lyrics  
> #nd its good


	5. A Bitter Experience (Apples)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apples (aka they got a Lot of apples)

The shift from the smooth dirt road onto the bumpy, less refined soil of the front yard is something that Taemin doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to. He smiles at the feeling of rocks and loose earth as he rolls the car to a stop on the side of the house, a reminder that he’s back to where he can be free and relaxed. That he’s home. What a relief. **  
**

He yawns getting of of the car, muffling it into the back of his hand and smacking his lips. Ugh. It’s only four but going into work always makes him extra tired. He didn’t even stay for the full shift, something that he feels mildly guilty about.  _But, at least,_  he figures, he didn’t even mean to go to the plant shop at all. He just wanted to get some brunch and then come back home, but then he decided to stop by for just a quick check in, and the next thing he knew he was in his work apron and strolling through his rows of plants. And he couldn’t even jerk off before he went in like usual so he was uncomfortably aroused the whole time.

So really, he should be praised for showing up unplanned for a surprise few hours of work. He was a great help at a great personal sacrifice. Amber and the others loved him there. He bought them all smoothies on his quick break and everything. Yeah. Best boss.

On that self-satisfied note, he checks and double checks and triple checks that he hasn’t left his keys in the car again and shuts the door. Dragging his feet rather than walking to the front porch, he smiles tiredly at the way the earth shifts and moves around him. There. That’s good shit. He thinks he’s gonna sit outside in his garden for a little bit once he changes and really appreciate being home.

He pulls himself up the front steps, jiggles his key into the lock, pushes open the door, and takes two steps into the living room to be greeted with no less than six boxes of apples. He stops, hand still on the door, and blinks. What the fuck. They’re all just… there, sitting on the coffee table, full size, in three stacks of two. This is… very wrong.

“Jonghyun?” he calls, closing the door behind him. He walks forward to inspect the boxes. Five boxes of Dark Red Delicious apples (a disgusting lie of a name) and one box of bruised Granny Smiths. What an asshole.

“Oh… you’re home.” Taemin looks up; Jonghyun is peeping around the right corner, leaning in from the kitchen with small stature and Roo between his ankles. Taemin looks blankly at him for a moment before pointing to the apples. Immediately, Jonghyun sighs, pressing his forehead against the wall. “I know,” he mumbles. He steps out of the kitchen and shuffles over to look at them as well with a tiny pout. “Neighbor McAnus came over,” he says quietly. “And he just… kept talking, and offering more, and saying so many things, and. I couldn’t. Say no.” He sucks his hand into his sleeve and squishes a gnat that’s crawling over an apple before Taemin even notices it’s there. Taemin rolls his eyes with a shake of the head. Two boxes of apples, maybe, but this is just ridiculous.

“You could have,” he mumbles. He picks up a green apple and rubs his thumb over the skin, grimacing at the large bruise on one side. He could cut that off pretty clean, probably, if he just–wait, fuck, no. “I mean,” he says, looking up quickly to find Jonghyun biting his lip, eyebrows furrowed angrily at the ground. “I didn’t–I just,” he stammers. He forgot. About Jonghyun’s mental illness. Again. “Look,” he says, stepping around Jonghyun instead of to him. He scoops Roo up off of the ground and gently holds her out for Jonghyun to take. Up close he can see that Jonghyun’s eyes are dull and tired, worn out from crying already.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly. Jonghyun avoids his eyes, taking Roo and nuzzling his cheek into her fur. She snuffles in his neck and accepts his pets easily, like she hadn’t probably been in his hands for half an hour earlier, soothing him from the panic attack their asshole neighbor gave him by doing this. Taemin bites his lip, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. He can fix this. “Wanna make an apple pie?” he offers, gesturing weakly toward the boxes. They might as well. If it makes Jonghyun sad they can just give it to Kibummie when she comes to visit tomorrow. At his offer, Jonghyun actually laughs, soft chuckles breathed into Roo’s fur.

“I mean,” he says, peeping up at Taemin with wet but amused eyes. “I may or may not have been doing that already before you came in.” He gestures with a small hand at the kitchen. “If it made me sad I was just gonna give it all to Gwi,” he mumbles. Taemin blinks slowly at him for a moment, then breathes out a soft, amused, fond, adoring chuckle. Alright then. Great minds think alike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #they make a cinnamon graham cracker crust apple pie nd it is v v nice and good  
> #it makes jong a lil sad but not Too sad  
> #they save gwi a few slices nd she just !!! uwu  
> #nd taem takes just All of the apples to work with him  
> #and tells them to just help themselves and sell the rest for like a quarter each  
> #'''i dont care my neighbors an asshole'''' he grumbles  
> #vics like Lmao  
> #also taems in bed with jong that night bc he wanted to snuggle him up extra  
> #nd hes still thinking about it nd grumbling bc like what an asshole  
> #that neighbor Always just comes over when taem isnt home bc he knows that jong is too anxious and nervous to say no to anything  
> #its So Fucked Up  
> #and he just grumbles like ''''im gonna plant so much fucking zucchini this spring nd im just gonna leave it all on his doorstep'''''  
> #nd jongs like lmao  
> #nd taem Does it nd hes just so s m u g and happy and proud of himself  
> #he gets jinki to help him drive like ten boxes of zucchini over and just leaves them right in front of neighbor mcassholes door  
> #his Brightest moment  
> #also a Bitter experience ha ha get it  
> #bitter like bitter apples #honestly the only good apples are fujis nd macintoshes  
> #[[[[turns on megaphone]]]] great minds think alike bc their mental illness fucked both of them up but theyre still wonderful individuals


	6. hnergh (Walking Under Trees/Crunchy Leaves)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka they have a nice walk in the forest uwu

“What do you think about… not a final draft or anything, but… ‘I know you won’t call but I keep checking to make sure?’” Jonghyun puffs up his lips at his phone as he steps over his third favorite fallen log. His foot lands in a little pile of dried leaves and he takes a second to really appreciate their crunch, twisting his foot a little bit, before continuing forward. Next to him Gwi steps over both the log and the leaves, but taps his shoulder to make him stop.

“For a song?” she asks, crouching down to inspect the leaves. She sifts gently through the pile, picks out a few of the bigger, more intact ones, checks for bugs, and then gives each one a little sniff. Jonghyun isn’t watching, but he hears her usual smiley noise and then the sound of her putting the leaves into her plastic bag with the others.

“Yeah,” he says, linking his arm with hers when they stand back up again. “I’m writing it with Youngbae.” They’ve been working on it for a while now.

“The one that’s like, terrified of the forest and lives even more in the city than I do?” Gwi asks.

“Mmhmm,” Jonghyun hums. “We’re skyping a lot.” He grins when she snorts, glancing up to see them shaking her head fondly. So he’s scared of the city and his partner is scared of the forest. They’re still getting it done. No problem. It’s gonna be a great collab.

“It’s a good concept,” she tells him, tugging him forward gently to continue on their walk through the woods. “Relatable.”

“Nice,” Jonghyun mumbles. Relatable is his middle name. “There’s a good looking pinecone,” he adds, pointing at the ground behind his phone without taking his focus off of his lyrics.

“Ooh,” Gwi says, and is immediately on the ground to check if it’s up to snuff. They’ve stopped at least once every three minutes on this walk so she can inspect things to take home with them. It’s familiar and endearing and what Jonghyun loves the most about Gwi coming to visit. He fluffs the fingers of his free hand through her blonde hair absentmindedly as he listens to them grab the pinecone. She turns it over in her fingers, checking for bugs and brushing off dirt. When she sniffs it, she doesn’t make either her “yes” or “no” noise; they don’t put it back down or stand back up.

“Don’t impulsively lick the pinecone,” Jonghyun mumbles. She doesn’t answer; he moves his phone to cock a brow at them down there. The pinecone is suspiciously close to her mouth and she’s looking up with him with equal parts shame and defiance.

“What if it tastes good this time?” they ask.

“It won’t,” Jonghyun tells her. They stare at him for another moment before sighing and dumping it in her bag.

“Anyway,” she says, standing up and taking Jonghyun’s arm again. “Are Taem and Ming done fucking yet?”

“Uh–what?” Jonghyun fumbles with his phone at shock at the sudden question, hissing when his fingers drag and tap over the screen and fuck up his lyrics. “Shit,” he mumbles, getting it steady and tapping the undo button repeatedly. “Um,” he says, avoiding eye contact on purpose because he knows she’ll be giving him that  _look._  “They’re not–”

“They are,” Gwi says, and they’re giving him that  _tone_. He huffs, glancing at her quickly.

“Okay, but you’re not supposed to  _know_  about it,” he says. It’s the whole reason they went on this walk right immediately after brunch instead of chilling for a while first: so Taemin could calm the extra hyper feels he woke up with down enough before they got back. Secrety secret fricking that was supposed to be kept secret from Gwi so they wouldn’t trigger her sex-repulsion anxiety. It was a whole plan. “What the fuck,” he says, grumpy that she ruined it. Gwi snorts at him, pushing him gently away so she can pull some pine needles off of a tree next to him.

“Ming had her glasses on inside,” they say. “And she only ever wears them inside because Taem thinks it’s hot.” She shivers slightly, but shakes it off and just sniffs the needles instead. Wrinkling her nose, she drops them onto the dirt and tugs Jonghyun to walk again. Jonghyun rubs her lower back comfortingly before she starts messing herself up by thinking about it too much.

“Well, I mean,” he sighs, shrugging because he can’t lie anymore. “I texted Minjunggie a little bit ago and she hasn’t texted back yet, so.” He shrugs again. They’re probably still all over each other.

“Mmmh,” Gwi hums. They look into her bag, at the familiar trees ahead of them. “I wanna find some acorns anyway,” she says, and continues walking without a look back towards the cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #just uwu lil walkies through the forest   
> #they do it a lot when gwi visits   
> #bc jong likes the forest but he is smol nd anxious nd scared of getting lost   
> #nd roo is scared of the forest bc its just scary   
> #nd taem doesnt rly lie going on walks bc theyre boring #so he goes with gwi uwu   
> #nd she doots around picking stuff up off the floor nd sniffing it   
> #bc she needs those sniffie stimmies nd she likes arranging them into cute lil decorative baskets at home   
> #nd they just have a Good Time   
> #also '''dont impulsively lick the pinecone''' is like the best thing ive ever written   
> #meanwhile 2min finished banging like twenty minutes ago and are just playing videogames   
> #taem: wakes up nd jerks off   
> #taem: Well That Didnt Help At All   
> #minjung: hi do u want some cereal   
> #taem: [[[eyes emoji]]]]


	7. Spontaneous Lows (Raking Leaves)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka theyre… raking.. leaves….

Waves of color cascade under Taemin’s rake, reds and yellows and browns and greens, all mixing and tumbling over the tines and over his shoes. They scoosh and rustle together and the dirt he’s raking them off of crumbles and skitters, all music to his ears. The rake leaves soft lines behind in the ground that make Taemin feel accomplished when he looks around and sees them everywhere. They’ve done a lot so far.

It’s been around half an hour out here, raking up the fallen leaves in a small radius around the cabin. Jonghyun is working on his own pile a few trees away and Taemin smiles to see him choked up so much on the longer rake he insisted on taking. He’s cute and sweet and wonderful for volunteering to help Taemin out with this. Fresh air, pretty colors, free mulch, and the guarantee of a quick playful kiss whenever they happen to meet up at the wheelbarrow to dump off their leaves… this is his favorite chore, for sure.

He finishes gathering up all of the leaves around him, smiling at his work and leaning the rake against a near tree. Pushing his hair out of his face, he heads to the wheelbarrow they left between the both of them and pushes it over to his pile. Some stray leaves tickle his wrists when he scoops them up into an old dustpan and dumps them inside, but that’s always kind of been his favorite part. He leaves them on the floor, successful escapees, and scoops up the rest of his pile. It all fills about half of the wheelbarrow and he sighs in accomplishment. Nice. Jonghyun is still raking up his own pile of leaves when Taemin glances around so he pushes the wheelbarrow over there next.

“Hello my baby, hello my honey,” he sings, dancing a quick circle around a surprised Jonghyun and plucking one of his hands off of the rake to kiss. “I don’t know the rest of the song,” he grins, letting it widen when Jonghyun rolls his eyes. He squeezes Taemin’s hand before taking it away to finish raking. Taemin grabs his own rake to help out and with the two of them, they gather up all of the leaves around them easily. Taemin bends to scoop up a big section while Jonghyun continues to tidy up the pile. When he turns to grab more after dumping them into the wheelbarrow, he hesitates.

Jonghyun is just standing there, both hands gripping his rake and shoulder leaning against it, frowning at the ground with his lip between his teeth. A little crease grows between his eyebrows the longer Taemin watches him.

“Hey,” he says softly. He leans his rake and dustpan against the wheelbarrow and steps to Jonghyun. “You okay?” he asks, touching Jonghyun’s shoulder lightly. Jonghyun blinks, looks at him, looks quickly back down at the ground with wet eyes.

“I… no,” he says. “I don’t know. I’m just.” He lifts one hand to press against his forehead with a deep breath. “Suddenly I’m feeling really gross and sad and tired?” His voice kind of rises into a squeak of confusion and Taemin tsks sympathetically, stepping closer to wrap him up in a hug.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he mumbles. “I get it.” It’s just a thing that happens. It’s not new. Jonghyun whines quietly, clinging to his jacket. Taemin glances at the wheelbarrow half full of leaves for a moment, then dips down to press his lips to Jonghyun’s cheek. “Do you think you can finish one more wheelbarrow with me?” he asks gently. Just one more until they’re done. Jonghyun whines again, though, squeezing him close, and this one feels even more broken than the first.

“Nnngh,” he groans. “I’m just. I feel like. I’m so.” He stops talking and just shakes his head, sniffling thickly and exhaling a soft sob into Taemin’s chest. Taemin sighs slowly and pets through his blue hair, murmuring quiet little words of comfort. These spontaneous lows always hit Jonghyun the hardest. A minute passes of him letting Jonghyun hold him before Taemin kisses his temple.

“Will it be okay if I finish without you?” he asks. He doesn’t want to, but he knows that he’ll never get around to it any other time. He tilts Jonghyun’s face up to kiss his mouth softly, cupping his face as gently as possible. “And then I’ll come snuggle you,” he promises. “And kiss you all over and pamper you up.” He’ll give Jonghyun everything he deserves and needs until he gets even the tiniest hint of a smile. “Okay?” he asks. He leans in to give Jonghyun another soft kiss. Jonghyun hums against his mouth, fingers gripping weakly in his shirt.

“Okay,” he whispers when Taemin pulls back. He looks down and away in shame so Taemin brushes his lips gently at the corner of his eye. “Sorry,” Jonghyun squeaks. A tear falls where Taemin just kissed but he catches it quickly with his thumb.

“Don’t be,” he says firmly. He gently pulls himself out of Jonghyun’s hold and turns him towards the house. “Go get Roo and get yourself some orange juice, okay?” he says. Jonghyun’s favorites. “I’ll be like, ten minutes, tops.”

“Mmmh. Okay,” Jonghyun says. He turns to nuzzle Taemin’s neck one last time before shuffling back to the house, small and sad and rubbing at his eyes with his sleeves. Taemin watches him all the way until he disappears into the back door, then sighs and turns back to the leaves. Ten minutes tops. He’d better hurry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #me: fall au is gonna be all cute and fun and happy uwu   
> #me: writes like seven sad things   
> #but no taem finishes up and doots inside and finds jong on the couch   
> #watching a documentary nd snuggling roo up and weeping a lil   
> #but shes rly helping him feel better and being comforting and sweet and good   
> #and taem kinda just wiggles in behind him and kissies him up nd holds him close and rubs his tum and its Good   
> #also when roo wiggles away to go take a nap in her bed bc its her nap time   
> #taem nuzzles jong even more   
> #and kinda wiggles   
> #bc he wants to give jong a handy   
> #bc handies are good and they make ppl feel good and he wants jonghyun to feel good   
> #but he knows that if he jerks jong off then hes gonna get a boner and he dosent want jonghyun to think hes just tryna frick   
> #nd hes :c about it but jong kinda paps him and giggles like nnn it okay u can jerk us off together uwu   
> #and taems like :0   
> #and jerks jong off nd makes jong all blised nd smiley and relaxed nd its Good


	8. Parts Of A Whole (Hipsters)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka technically theyre all hipsters

“So.” Jonghyun very quickly puts his guitar down next to him after he fucks up his melody for the sixth time in the row. “I was texting Eunsookie earlier.” He lowers his hands to Taemin’s sleepy head in his lap to make sure that he’s paying attention to his words instead of commenting on his failure. “And she said that Joon said–”

“Onew.”

“Hmm?” Jonghyun pauses to frown down at Taemin, who hasn’t opened his eyes but is yawning into the back of his hand. The rain always did make him extra sleepy. He pulls out his phone and clumsily drags open his passlock, then holds it in front of Jonghyun’s face.

“Changed their mind,” he mumbles. Jonghyun opens up his texts and hums at the latest one under a row of old sexts that does indeed just say “Onew” with a winky face. That must have been the text Jonghyun also got immediately after he sat down with his guitar in his hands and Taemin’s head in his lap. Hmm.

“Okay, well, I was talking to Onew earlier,” he says, pulling them back on topic to the thing he’s changing the topic to, “and they said that Joon said that they were a hipster.”

“Oh,” Taemin says, and it’s a snort, a breath of laughter that gets half lost in Jonghyun’s thigh. “I mean, yeah.” He shrugs like that should be obvious; Jonghyun pouts down at him and pokes his cheek.

“What?” he says. “No, you’re supposed to say that they’re not.”

“The plaid button ups, the skinny jeans, the beanies,” Taemin says, poking Jonghyun’s hand with each thing he lists. “They actually wear real glasses, at least, but–” He stops with an ugly snort and an uglier giggle, covering his face with his own hands. “Holy shit,” he says. He opens his eyes with whatever revelation he’s just had and they’re amused little crescents between his fingers. “All four of you have the parts to make up one complete hipster,” he says.

“Excuse me,” Jonghyun huffs, putting his hand on his chest. He has never been more offended in his life. “I do not have hipster in me.” He is not some pretentious asshole. Taemin nods, though, giggles only growing louder under his fingertips.

“You do,” he says. “You’re always in here listening to music everyone else has  _probably never heard of._ ” He puts little air quotes around the words and Jonghyun huffs again.

“It’s–it’s  _my_  music,” he splutters. “Of course no one’s heard of it, it’s barely even been  _written_ yet–”

“That still qualifies as hipster,” Taemin says, shaking his head when Jonghyun tries to protest. It does not. It’s not hipster at all. “Also, your pumpkin spice lattes,” Taemin adds with a little smirk.

“You–mmgh,” Jonghyun groans. Fuck.

“And, Kibummie,” Taemin says. He pats Jonghyun’s stomach eagerly to get his attention. “Has the fake ass glasses–”

“Gwi literally has a prescription–”

“She has perscription  _contacts,_ ” Taemin corrects, “but those thick frames without lenses in them that they wear over her contacts? Aren’t prescription at all.”

“That’s–that’s not–” It’s absolutely true but Jonghyun refuses to admit it.

“And all Minjung drinks is almond milk,” Taemin says, waving his hand carelessly. He looks giddier than Jonghyun has ever seen him at all of these things he’s bringing up; Jonghyun pouts and shakes his head.

“She’s lactose intolerant,” he says, but it’s barely more than a mumble because he knows that her tummy rumbles don’t start unless she has, like, three cups at once. A large ice cream will ruin her but aside from that, she doesn’t need to buy a whole new expensive carton of fancy almond milk at all. She even thins it out with regular milk sometimes because the texture gets to her but she still talks about how great and vitamin-filled she is for it. Jonghyun huffs again when he catches Taemin’s eye and finds him just smirking up at him. Rude. “Well, what about you?” he snaps. Taemin isn’t exactly innocent himself. He seems to think that he is, though, if the way he cocks a brow and smirks wider means anything.

“What  _about_  me?” he asks. “I don’t embody your hipster garbage sin.” He looks way too smug in his existence right now and Jonghyun humphs, feeling a rising sense of joy at the thought of knocking him down a few pegs.

“Yeah?” he asks. “Literally two days ago you were talking about how well your kale was growing outside.”

Taemin’s smile slides right off of his face.

Jonghyun’s grows even wider.

“Listen,” Taemin scowls, reaching up to poke his cheek. “That’s not–”

“Not what?” Jonghyun asks. “Not the most hipster food in existence?”

“No, just, I’m not–”

“And I know you love quinoa, you little weirdo,” Jonghyun adds, poking Taemin’s nose. He’s heard tell of Taemin ordering it at restaurants in the city. Gwi wouldn’t lie to him about that. Taemin huffs loudly, running his fingers through his hair.

“It’s–healthy and underappreciated,” he says, grimacing as the telltale hipster words leave his mouth.

“It’s just weird grainy copycat rice,” Jonghyun says. Taemin can’t even deny it. He tries to, too; Jonghyun watches him open his mouth, struggle for words, and then close it again with another huff.

“Listen,” he says again. “Fuck off.”

“If the four of us fuse into one big hipster, then you complete the aesthetic,” Jonghyun says, patting his head pleasantly. Taemin just grumbles and turns his face into Jonghyun’s thigh. When Jonghyun tries to keep bugging him about it, he pretends to be asleep again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #taem just curls up all small and grumpy like hmf hmf hmf   
> #but its like u brought this on urself lmao   
> #grows his own kale forages for mushrooms and always orders quinoa   
> #Also listens to jonghyuns music aka music ppl have probably never heard of   
> #steals jinkis hipster clothes like All The Time   
> #hes a Mess   
> #a hipster mess


	9. The Little Things (Knitting)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka its warm and cozy and good

Taemin’s fingers work slowly, but carefully, the knitting needles warm in his hands as he puts them through the motions. The wooden needles, their not quite smooth texture, and the soft scratchiness of the yarn all feel like bliss against his sensitive fingers. He blinks slowly as he watches them work. In, loop, pull, push, pull, tighten, in, loop, pull, push, pull, tighten, in, loop….

The purple of the yarn is dark and spacy, a deep wine color. It looks so comfortable paired with the navy blue and warm raspberry that make up the rest of the pillow case, like it could wrap him up and swaddle him in one vast galaxy that he would never tire of looking at. It makes him feel warm and tingly on the inside. Tighten, in, loop, pull, push….

Outside, rain falls in thick pats into the mud, sharp drops against the car, heavy patters against the front windows. It’s a constant noise that makes Taemin’s ears buzz with pleasure. Push, pull, tighten, in, loop, pull….

His head is leaning on Jonghyun’s shoulder, his body pressed up next to him on the couch, as Jonghyun lazily watches one of his documentaries on the tv. He has the volume lowered and the subtitles on, and his hand pets through Taemin’s hair absently, slow and soothing. Taemin turns his head to nuzzle just slightly into Jonghyun’s neck. He smells like soft flannel shirts, same as usual, and it’s such a warm and comfortable and familiar smell that it has Taemin pressing even closer for more. In, loop, pull, push, tighten, in, loop….

Taemin’s fingers falter as he slides his gaze up to the tv. Something about dinosaurs, about fossils and digging them up. Archaeologists on screen are sitting in the dry desert dirt, brushing away dust in little poofs that make Taemin want to stick his face in and inhale. He loves dirt. He loves digging. He loves brushing things very meticulously clean, until there’s no dirt left. He closes his eyes and breathes slowly, opening them again to focus on his knitting.

Pull, tighten, in, loop…. A squirrel outside completely disregards the rain as it scurries up a tree across the road. Taemin frowns at it. Furry little fucker. It better not try to come to the backyard and into the garden. He watches it until it disappears into the leaves and then looks back down. Pull, push, pull…. He looks up again to make sure the squirrel is _really_ gone. Just a second. Tighten, in, loop…. The camera just took a wide view of the entire dig site and Taemin’s breath went a little shaky. That’s so much dirt. He wants to be there. Pull, push…. Jonghyun shifts to get more comfortable and Taemin’s nose brushes his hair. It smells like day-old shampoo and he pushes his face even closer for more.

Push… no, tighten… in, pull, push… no, wait…. Taemin stops his fingers completely, pouting at his work. Frick. He readjusts the pillow cover over his legs, trying to figure out how exactly he fucked up. The drag of the yarn over his lap, heavier and longer than the slight twitches and rustles from before, sparks an extra little fizzle of pleasure through his lower abdomen. He pauses again, looking tiredly at his lap. Hmm. It appears that his dick has been led to believe that it’s actually going to get somewhere from the tiny little rubs it’s been getting through two layers of clothes this whole time. That would explain why everything’s been making him feel more tingly than usual.

If he fucked up… a loop… then that means…. It means his eyes leave his knitting again to watch a raindrop slither it’s way slowly down from the top of the window to the bottom. It joins with four others on the way and Taemin sighs, lowering his hands to his lap.

“Jonghyun,” he murmurs, nuzzling Jonghyun’s neck with intent for attention this time. Jonghyun hums back quietly, not taking his eyes off of the tv. “I fucked up,” Taemin mumbles. “And I’m losing my focus. And I noticed that I have a boner and now it’s gonna bug me. And I’m sleepy.” He hands his knitting over tiredly and lets his hands fall around Jonghyun’s forearm when he takes it. Jonghyun tsks sympathetically, turning to peck Taemin’s cheek before starting to pick up the knitting.

“Want me to give you a handy?” he asks, undoing the last three of Taemin’s stitches to just start the row over again. Taemin shrugs, shaking his head. Now that he’s aware of it he’s starting to really feel that sexual pull, the heightened tingles all over, the slow pulse of his blood in his body, but he knows that he’s too tired to actually reach an orgasm right now. His body will just have to deal with it.

“‘M sleepy,” he repeats. He nuzzles Jonghyun’s shoulder and shifts to lean more comfortably against him, closing his eyes and holding Jonghyun’s arm close. “Wanna sleep.”

“Mmkay,” Jonghyun hums. He kisses Taemin’s cheek again. “Who were we making this for, again, though?” he asks, poking Taemin’s side next. Taemin cracks open an eye and squints at it. He doesn’t remember either. There’s three colors; all mixed together, uneven row thicknesses because they swap the work back and forth whenever they feel like it, colors changed up in the middle of a line sometimes because Jonghyun always wants to use pink so much that he goes to the trouble of changing colors mid row when Taemin switches off to him. Jonghyun uses pink, and Taemin was doing purple, and there’s also blue, and that’s….

“Bi,” Taemin says slowly, and then, “Minjung,” both of them say in unison. Right. The bi flag pillowcase for her sweet, sweet bi head. Jonghyun nods.

“Thanks,” he says, and pats Taemin’s head gently until he closes his eyes again and drifts into a warm nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #it is Good and Lovely and Warm   
> #taem naps on jong and snuggles up his leg   
> #nd jong tugs up the knitting basket and pulls out some pink yarn and does some lil lines while he watches his documentaries   
> #he starts losing focus too eventually and just folds it up and puts it away to finish another time   
> #they like knitting it is simple and fun and productive   
> #the other three all have Many cute knitted things from them


	10. Consolation Prize (Barn Petting Zoos)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka jonghyun couldnt go but its not that bad

Jonghyun’s closed eyes hurt, but they’re dry. His head throbs lowly, but it’s clear. His throat is sore, but no longer clogged with mucus and regret. He’s tired, but he thinks he’s finally feeling better.

He shifts up slightly on the couch, between Minjunggie’s legs, turning his head to nuzzle into her bicep. Her chest is solid and warm under his head, her heartbeat steady, breathing soothing, and he takes his own deep breath, inhaling the scent of her knit sweater. On his chest, Roo is a warm weight that he lifts his hand up to pet. She snuffles under his neck and it makes the tiniest smile turn up his lips. She’s good.

Also good are Minjunggie’s hands; both of them are under his shirt and rubbing smoothly over his stomach. He keeps his eyes closed as he lies against her, taking some time to just enjoy how her hands feel on his skin. Big and warm, one palm slowly trailing up and down his abdomen, the other hand resting just above his hipbone, fingers opening and closing in a steady rhythm. Good.

He lifts one hand to rub his cheeks, drying them completely before blinking his eyes open. They grey sky is bright through the front window, but when he turns his head the warm brown of the couch is much more gentle and inviting.

“Hey.” With Minjunggie’s soft voice comes a softer kiss to his hair. Jonghyun hums shortly, not really wanting to make words yet. He slides his hand down to circle around Minjunggie’s wrist on his hip, just to hold her. “Feeling okay?” she asks him. Jonghyun hums, feeling tired, feeling worn out, feeling gross, remembering what made him feel this way in the first place.

“Yeah,” he sighs. It’s still garbage how he can’t be at the petting zoo with Taemin and Eunsookie right now after what happened last June, but whatever. He’s all cried out. He’s felt his guilt and shame and regret and self-hate as hard as he’s going to today. Now it’s time for healing. And snuggling. And kissing. And tummy rubs.

He lifts his hands to Roo, picking her up and gently repositioning her on his chest with her tummy up. Rubbing his fingers in gentle circles over her fur, he smiles when she makes her quiet happy noise, little tail wagging against his shoulder. Nice. That’s good shit right there. That’s good for the soul.

Minjunggie’s hand leaves his hip, and he whines softly at the loss of contact, but a moment later it appears under his chin instead. She tilts his head up and presses a slow kiss to his lips, one that automatically has him sighing and pressing closer. Her mouth is always so soft and inviting and lovely. He doesn’t know how she does it. His hands slow on Roo, just resting over her tummy, feeling her breathing on top of him and Minjunggie breathing underneath them. They’re not in synch but they both still feel so calm and soothing, Roo’s little paw papping his fingers and Minjunggie’s long hair tickling his cheeks. He’s already feeling the memories that caused his sadness shifting to the back of his mind.

With that thought, though, they try wiggling themselves back front and center; Jonghyun pulls away from Minjunggie’s lips with a deep breath. No.

“Heck off, feelings,” he mumbles. He doesn’t need that shit right now. Ignoring Minjunggie’s soft laugh, he finds her hand still on his stomach and covers it with his own. She continues to rub his tummy and he follows her, guiding her, slipping his fingers just barely through the gaps of hers. Good. Yes. Soothing and blissful.

“Wanna make hot chocolate?” Minjunggie asks softly. Jonghyun gasps even softer.

“Yes,” he breathes. He squeezes her hand gently. “Can we take a walk around the garden too?” he asks, looking up at her with big eyes. He’s too tired for a full walk through the woods and Roo won’t go out that far anyway, but he needs some fresh air, crisp and cool and refreshing. Minjunggie nods easily, pressing her lips to his again in a soft peck. Jonghyun tries to follow when she pulls back and pouts when she smirks at him. Rude.

“Whenever you’re ready,” she tells him, tapping her fingers lightly over his tummy. Jonghyun nods, relaxing back against her chest slowly. He doesn’t think he wants to get up right this second. Another few minutes snuggled in the arms of his wonderful babe couldn’t hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #he is v v v sad and wiggly but minjung is v v v sweet and comfy and warm   
> #i rewrote this like twice lmao   
> #it went from like Rly Fucking Sad to Rly sad to what it is now which is kinda sad but mostly cute and happy   
> #but also when i rewrote it i just didnt put in what made jonghyun sad in the first place lmao   
> #but like Basically   
> #him nd taem nd usually one of the other three if they were around would go to the lil petting zoo at the ranch a few times a year   
> #bc its like a four times a year type thing one for each season   
> #nd it was always so nice and lovely and wonderful and jonghyun knew all the animals names nd all of them loved him   
> #and it made him So Happy and after they would go to a lil restaurant for lunch like uwu   
> #but then it started getting more popular nd more ppl would come every time   
> #which was good for the ranch #but Awful for jonghyun bc he cant handle ppl and noises and crowds and he couldnt relax and he was half panicking the whole time   
> #and then when they tried going for lunch they wouldnt let him in bc Suddenly after like Years of not minding   
> #Suddenly roo was a problem and Suddenly dogs werent allowed in   
> #which is also a reasonable thing and not a bad business move and roo is only an emotional support dog and not a service dog so its Legal   
> #but still jonghyun was crying and taem was yelling and gwi got a headache   
> #and he just cant go there anymore bc its not good for him anymore and its too triggering and he cant handle it   
> #and he feels garbage about like Everything about it bc he Wants to be there but he Cant   
> #and hes rly fucked up   
> #but minjunggie snuggles him and rubs his tummy and tells him that its not fair that something he loved became inaccessible to him   
> #and he sniffles but nuzzles her and feels Better


	11. Spoopy (Scary Decorations)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka taem fricked up

“Gonna be the wildest thing in the world….” Taemin lifts his clippers in front of his face and taps them away with his other hand, moving his arm in an arc to the next branch to cut. He snips through the wood easily, grabbing it and spinning around to toss it into the pile. “I want to be your only ace,” he mumbles, slowly stepping closer to his apple tree again. “All those other dudes, nuh nuh nuh, I’m different from them.” He really should know the lyrics to this song better, he thinks. He frowns for a second at the thought as he reaches up to clip a high twig away. Bluh. Whatever.

“Nuh nuh nuh nuh  _nuh nuh_  baby, what you want,” he sings softly. He sticks his clippers into his hoodie pocket and does the dance from memory, the hand movements, the roll, the spin, and hisses softly as he runs his fingers through his hair. That was good, though. He has the dance perfect and he loves that. That’s all he needs. He’s tingly all over and a little breathless just from the satisfaction of it. He kind of wants to find Jonghyun and see if he wants to frick. Maybe after. “Something something… ace ace ace ace,” he breathes. He twirls his clippers around his finger and twirls his body around the other side of the tree to continue his work over there.

“Ace ace ace ace,” he whispers again. He skipped almost the entire second verse, but oh well. “Tonight, I’m your only–”

“Taem?”

“What— _fuck-_ -oh, fuck, what the f–” Taemin turns around at Jonghyun’s voice only to turn directly into a lace of spiderwebs stretched between the tree and the tall grapevine posts. He splutters, shaking his head and flapping his hands in front of him to swipe it away. His heart pounds in his chest and his entire body crawls as he struggles to get them off of him. “Jesus fucking christ, what the fuck,” he hisses, and then, “ _Holy_ –fucking–god damn it,” when a large plastic spider drops onto his wrist and tumbles into the dirt along with his clippers. It’s several seconds of him making noises that he can’t even describe and brushing the webs off of him until a very important part of that description registers: plastic. He slows, feeling the texture of the webs; dry and cottony, thick and soft; not real at all. Fake. Fake cobwebs, fake spiders. From the Halloween store. Right.  _Right._

“Ugh,” he whispers, brushing them off with annoyance now instead of terror. What the fuck. This is bullshit. His heart still thuds so hard that he can feel his pulse everywhere and he has that uncomfortable underarm sweat itch going on that he despises. This is so bullshit. He tears the last piece of cotton off of his elbow and drops it into the dirt, huffing at it for existing. He hates. Looking up, he finds Jonghyun kind of just standing there, staring at him. Oh. Right. “What did you want again?” he asks.

The chill breeze tickles his hair over the back of his neck and he shudders, slapping his hand there to make it stop. Jonghyun kind of just looks at him some more.

“Wow,” is what he says. Taemin feels his face automatically flush a faint pink. God damn it.

_“What_ did you  _want,_  Jonghyun?” he asks again, fists clenching shamefully at his sides.

“Okay, I just want you to, like, remember,” Jonghyun says, cocking both a brow and his hip, one hand half covering the wide smile on his lips. “That, like,  _you_ bought those fake spiderwebs.” He gestures at the remnants of the webs as he speaks and Taemin closes his eyes with a heavy sigh. “Like,” Jonghyun says. “You, by yourself, went out to the Halloween store, bought those webs, brought them here, opened them, and hung them up everywhere.”

_“What did you want, Jonghyun,”_  Taemin hisses. He doesn’t need this. He feels like his whole fucking body is red.

“This is literally the fourth time you’ve done this.”

_“Jonghyun,”_  Taemin says loudly, and steps around the hanging leftover webs to hold Jonghyun firmly by the shoulders. “Tell me what you wanted to talk to me about,” he says slowly. Far from being intimidated, Jonghyun just laughs breathily. He shakes his shoulders away from Taemin’s hands, then steps forward and wraps his arms around his waist.

“Dude, I don’t even fucking remember,” he says, nuzzling his smile into Taemin’s shoulder. “I love you,” he adds, and Taemin sighs. Bluh. He loves this little anus also.

“Buy me ice cream later to apologize for making fun of me,” he grumbles. Jonghyun giggles quietly but nods against Taemin’s shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #taem literally just spent the time to buy those nd put them up nd every time he Forgets that he did that   
> #nd scares himself   
> #hes doing his best   
> #jonghyun feels bad for giggling but it was So Good   
> #taem forgets about it but like a month later when theyre at the store together nd jong is v smol and clingy to him   
> #jong buys him an ice cream   
> #nd taems like hmm whats this for??? nd jongs like for the spiderwebs   
> #and taems like what nd jongs like lmao just take it and taems like uwu okay   
> #taem learns some dances in his spare time nd its Good


	12. hoongah (Scented Candles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka somehow its not rly about the candles lmao

“Mmmmmmhoooooh my god. I wanna shove this entire candle up my asshole.”

An incredulous snort makes Jonghyun jump and hiss, scared out of his skin; looking around the living room, he jumps again when he finds Taemin just curled up in a blanket pile behind the couch.

“What the  _fuck,”_  he breathes, wiggling to his knees on the couch so he can frown over the back of it. “How long have you been there?” he asks. He doesn’t remember seeing Taemin snuggled there when he walked in, but he doesn’t really look behind the couch on a regular basis anyway. Taemin’s thing for small spaces is gonna give him a heart attack one day. At his question, Taemin shrugs and reaches up to boop his nose.

“And you give  _me_  shit about being hypersexy,” he mumbles. Jonghyun huffs swats his hand away.

“I do not,” he mumbles, and turns back to how he was before on the couch, resting his chin on the left arm to be as close as possible to his scented candle. It smells like chopped wood and smoky fires and warm flannel and everything that any respectable scented candle connoisseur should want to shove up their ass and he won’t be shamed for admiring it. He straightens it out on its little stand, wiggling his fingers over the little flame for just a moment. He breathes deeply and hums lowly, letting it all out in a pleased sigh. He loves this candle.

After his sniff, his sigh, his hum, all of his loud shuffling to make it obvious to Taemin that he does not care about his judgement, there’s nothing. No soft laughter, no fake offended huff, not even any quiet shuffling of Taemin getting more comfortable. Jonghyun closes his eyes and bites his lip, taking another slow breath. Self-doubt makes him hesitate, but worry makes him speak up.

“Taem?” he says quietly. He gets no answer other than the soft rustle of blankets. He rustles his own blankets by getting to his knees again and peeping over the back of the couch. “Taemin,” he says. Taemin’s eyebrows twitch over closed lids, his hand paused halfway through his hair. Jonghyun curls his fingers anxiously into the fabric of the couch. “Do I…,” he mumbles. “Make you feel bad? For… being hyper?”

Taemin’s mouth, already curved into a small frown, twists into even more of a scowl and Jonghyun’s breath hitches. Fuck. He does. Taemin finishes pushing his hand through his hair, slides it under his blankets, shrugs halfheartedly.

“Sometimes, yeah,” he says, and Jonghyun whines softly. What. What the fuck. “But, look,” Taemin says. He shakes his head and opens his eyes all the way to look at Jonghyun seriously. “I’m tired,” he mumbles. “I don’t wanna talk about it.” He pulls his blanket up over his face, then sighs and pushes it back down. “C’mere,” he says, and reaches up a weak hand to pat at Jonghyun’s.

“I’m–like, come over the couch?” Jonghyun asks, confused. Taemin nods, grabbing one of his fingers and tugging halfheartedly.

“Come lay on me,” he mumbles. “I don’t wanna get up to lay on you.”

“Oh,” Jonghyun says. Oh. Hmm. Hrm. He guesses that makes sense. He wiggles out of his blanket, drapes it over the back of the couch, and then clumsily clambers over it. Taemin is just a lump of blankets on the floor so he does his best to avoid stepping on him, wiggling down on top of him with his knees on either side of him. Flattening himself out, he comes to a rest on top of Taemin with their chests pressed together through the blanket. He reaches up for his own, struggling to fit it over himself while Taemin hooks an uncovered leg around his calf.

Once he gets settled he relaxes somewhat so he can nestle his head into the crook of Taemin’s neck. Taemin’s arms leave his blanket to wrap around his shoulders. His head is turned away and his eyes are closed, frown still on his lips, and Jonghyun sighs. He nuzzles Taemin’s neck, pressing his lips to it in a weak apology. Taemin stiffens, though, sucks in a breath and moves his hands down to Jonghyun’s waist.

“Don’t. Kiss my neck,” he whispers, and Jonghyun grimaces. Right. Fuck. Neck kisses are what get Taemin all wound up and extra tingly faster than anything. He vaguely remembers teasing Taemin about that very thing less than a week ago. He sighs, wiggling down more to press his forehead against Taemin’s collarbones.

“Sorry,” he mumbles. He means about both things but he knows that Taemin doesn’t know that. He raises his arms to fit them around Taemin’s neck, allowing him to use his hands as a pillow. “Can we talk about it later?” he asks. He needs to know how often he fucks up, what he does, why Taemin’s never said anything before, exactly how bad he makes Taemin feel. He needs to know so he can stop. And he should sit and think himself, try to remember, so Taemin doesn’t have to spell it out for him.

“Yeah,” Taemin sighs. “You’ll have to remind me, though,” he mumbles. “Because I’ll forget again.”

“Mmh,” Jonghyun hums. Again. He’ll forget  _again._  Like he’s meant to talk to Jonghyun about this before. “Okay,” he says quietly. Taemin’s heavy breath is the last sound before the room is quiet again and Jonghyun is left with just his thoughts and Taemin’s heartbeat. He closes his eyes and curls his fingers gently against the back of Taemin’s head. This is so upsetting. Since when is he the asshole about something? He’s always the first to defend Taemin from dingles that try to shame him. He can’t fathom how he managed to become one of them.

“Hey,” Taemin mumbles. Jonghyun starts, caught off guard by his voice vibrating through his skin, but hums quickly back in question. Taemin pats his back slowly, sleepily. “Did you blow out the candle?” he asks.

Oh. Oh, fuck–

“No, shit,” Jonghyun says, and starts wiggling to do that, but Taemin stops him with arms wrapped fully around his waist.

“It’s fine, it’s not gonna set the house on fire,” he murmurs. He holds Jonghyun rightly until Jonghyun sighs and relaxes against him, nodding against his worries. It’s on it’s sturdy little stand and everything. “I was just… gonna say,” Taemin mumbles. He nuzzles the top of Jonghyun’s head and presses a kiss to his hair. “It does smell really good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #listen i rewrote this one also lmao   
> #from like rly >:/ nd sad to whatever hte fuck this is   
> #@my fingers why didnt u write someth cute about smells nd snuggles   
> #but anyway for taem its like   
> #a mix of him bein super self-conscious about the hypesexy thing in the first place   
> #nd jongs just general casualness about it feeling dismissive nd kinda expecting   
> #like when he just Assumes taem wants a handy or Assumes he want to frick   
> #or his lil teases nd jokes nd booty touchies nd whatnot   
> #nd how sometimes jongs joking around like ha ha shes cute isnt she wink wink   
> #like 1 taem would just wanna frick anyone nd like 2 it feel slike jong just Forgets that hes literally ace sometimes   
> #nd it just Builds Up nd makes taem feel like garbage   
> #kinda even worse than when he was getting to know gwis sex repulsed ass nd before they figured each other out   
> #but ye anyway they talk about it nd all of that nd jong nuzzles taem nd promises to be more careful about what he says   
> #and they snuggle and jong tbh still wants to shove that entire candle up his asshole   
> #and its Good


	13. three scarves is too many scarves (Scarves)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka jonghyun is Small

Taemin slouches sleepily over the kitchen table, the thick, warm smell of fried eggs in his nose. Lovely bacon smell accompanies it from the paper towel in the middle of the table, but somehow every time he tries to sneak a piece early Eunsook is there to swat his hand away. He can’t say that he’s grumpy. He got out of the shower to find that Eunsook had arrived back from camping several hours ago around dawn and that she had started on breakfast while he was in the bathroom. Two blessings that he didn’t even ask for last night. He can’t help but be grateful as he watches her trying to set the toaster to her precise perfect setting. All he needs now to make this morning perfect is– **  
**

“Jonggie,” Eunsook says, and Taemin looks up at Jonghyun’s sleepy answering mumble. Aha. There. Perfect.

And adorable, holy shit–Taemin pushes himself to sit up straight, heart melting when he really takes in Jonghyun’s appearance. His eyes are puffy with sleep, his blue hair mussed on top of his head, his fingers small and cute peeping out of long sweater sleeves, and the best part… his mouth, half his face, covered up by what looks like the biggest scarf in the world. A mash up of pastel colors, it swamps him, makes his head look small and his shoulders tiny, and he has to tilt his head way up to free his mouth enough to accept Eunsook’s little kiss.

“Have a nice nap?” she asks, and Jonghyun nods, his sleepy little smile disappearing back into his scarf. Taemin pouts, jealous. Jonghyun must have been awake when Eunsook got home. His grumpy mood lasts as long as it takes Jonghyun to shuffle to him and sit in his lap; then, Taemin is too warm and happy to even think about being grumpy. He tugs Jonghyun close by his hips and nuzzles his scarf, enjoying the slight scratchiness of the yarn. He loves. This must be one that they knit themselves, though Taemin doesn’t recognize the pattern.

“When did you make this?” he asks, pulling gently at the scarf. It pulls back to fall halfway down Jonghyun’s chest; Taemin hisses. “Whoops,” he mumbles. “Sorry,” he says, and lifts it to put it back around Jonghyun’s neck. Then he pauses, because there’s another one there. Taemin looks blankly between the two scarves, and then notices that there’s another third one also around Jonghyun’s neck. That explains all of the colors. “Um,” he says. This seems a little excessive. Jonghyun reaches for the first scarf with grabby hands, bundling it up close under his chin and tugging it fully off.

“This one,” he mumbles, fluttering it out nice and pretty. “Is ace.” He holds it up and Taemin scans the colors: black grey white and purple. Yeah. That’s ace. “You,” Jonghyun says, and flaps it around Taemin’s neck.

“Me,” Taemin says slowly. Yeah. That’s him.

“And… this one….” Jonghyun takes the third scarf, still under the second, and tries to pull it off. Predictably, it gets caught and tangled up with its friend. Jonghyun whines softly, mumbling quiet little curses, struggling with the fabric and getting it more and more tied up until–

“Oh, jeez,” Eunsook sighs, and then she’s leaning over Taemin to gently lift the entire bundle over Jonghyun’s head. Jonghyun is pouting full force under his cerulean hair when his head pops out and Taemin laughs softly, cupping his puffed up cheeks and pressing their mouths together. Behind them, Eunsook gently sorts through and untangles the two scarves, making a satisfied noise when she finishes. Taemin leans his head back to peer at them upside down; Jonghyun takes them both and Taemin looks ahead again.

“This one is pan,” he says, holding the pink, yellow, and blue one out for Eunsook to take.

“Thanks,” Eunsook hums, and slings it lazily around her shoulders with a flattered little smile. Jonghyun smiles back at her approval and twists the last one in his fingers.

“This one is me,” he says, smile tiny and fond as he looks at the colors. White, grey, and purple, just like Taemin’s, but with little black triangles scattered throughout. “Demi,” Jonghyun says, and wraps it all around his neck, nuzzling it with a happy sigh. Taemin fixes it up nice and pretty and Eunsook fixes Jonghyun’s hair; Jonghyun tugs his scarf up to cover his mouth as he hums the happiest little squeak into it. Taemin loves when Jonghyun loves being pampered. He tugs him close to nuzzle his shoulder, Eunsook petting his hair above him, and sighs happily. This is his favorite morning by far of the whole year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #their eggies get a lil burned but its okay bc jong likes his things kinda crispy anyway   
> #taem is just sooooooooooooooooooo happy   
> #he woke up all warm nd snuggly nd jerked himself off rly nice   
> #put on his favorite fuzzy sweater of minjungs nd looked extra cute   
> #shuffled to the kitchen nd got breakfast nd also !!! eunsookie his love   
> #nd jong is oh so adorable in his lap   
> #hes so uwu uwu uwu about everything rn   
> #he loves   
> #jongs scarf also has lil yellow pink nd blue tassels bc hes also demipan


	14. an unexpected surprise shift (Harvest Festivals)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka taem has to go to work lmao

“It was the extraterrestrials themselves that saved DNA samples of turtles and alligators, only to reintroduce them to the planet after their extinction so they would continue on.”

“Bruh,” Jonghyun whispers. He gropes aimlessly with the hand he has dangling off of the couch, not taking his eyes off of the tv. Eventually he finds his bag of popcorn and brings a handful up to his mouth. He pokes his tongue out and licks one up like a lizard, chewing slowly so he doesn’t choke lying on his side. With his other hand, the one that’s holding Taemin’s wrist, he squeezes gently. “Did you hear that?” he asks. He knows Taemin is always dozing off during these documentaries, but this is actually interesting. Taemin squeezes his waist back and nuzzles his shoulder.

“Ridiculous,” he mumbles. He gestures dismissively at the tv with his right hand. It’s attached to his right arm, which is currently under Jonghyun’s head, so Jonghyun lazily moves with it. “Reintroducing a whole species after extinction is too much trouble,” Taemin says. “They wouldn’t wait for them to die out. They’d keep them alive the whole time.” He scoffs his discontent at the scientists’ theories and Jonghyun feels his forehead pressing into the back of his neck. He exhales softly in amusement, patting Taemin’s hand gently. That’s actually a good point.

He keeps watching, fascinated, as they give him pretty solid, if impractical, proof of aliens interfering with Earth’s evolution. His popcorn slowly dwindles along with the water bottle he has next to it. Roo is under his arm, snuggled to his chest, snoring softly against his skin. He’s relaxed, comfortable, warm, content on this gray Saturday morning to be watching some conspiracy documentary with his babes. Behind him, Taemin breathes deeply, fingers curling into Jonghyun’s stomach, hips rocking slowly against his butt. He’s drifting from a semi to a full boner and Jonghyun is sure that he doesn’t even realize, really. It’s endearing and Jonghyun doesn’t mind as long as when he finally does notice he waits for a commercial to ask for help. It’s just a nice, simple, cozy time and Jonghyun doesn’t think he could ask for a better moment than the one that he’s in right now.

When the soft jingle starts playing, Jonghyun doesn’t even notice it. He only realizes that something is happening when Taemin groans and shifts, taking his arm away from his waist and leaning back against the couch. Turning to frown over his shoulder, Jonghyun sees Taemin’s face scrunched into a grimace and his hand shoved underneath himself. It’s a very confusing few seconds until Taemin pulls out his phone and his ringtone music suddenly gets much louder now that he’s not on top of it. Oh. He shushes Roo gently when she makes sleepy noises, petting her soft head.

“Yeah, hi, Krys, what’s up?” Taemin yawns as soon as he answers the call. Ahh. Jonghyun stays silent as Taemin listens to the voice on the other end. Trouble at the plant store. “No, I didn’t  _just_ wake up, I was… napping,” Taemin grumbles. “It’s different.” Jonghyun snorts. Leave it to Krystal to criticize her boss and not care. “Already?” Taemin sighs next, and tugs weakly with his other arm. Jonghyun lifts his head to give it to him, then shifts more towards the edge of the couch to give Taemin space to sit up. “Well, where the fuck is Sulli?” Taemin frowns, and then, “Oh, god, fuck, I forgot she quit,” he hisses. He puts his face in his newly freed hand with an ashamed sigh. “I know it was last month,” he snaps. “Just–okay. You guys really  _need_ me there?” he asks. He holds his breath, but Jonghyun is already wiggling to sit up himself with Roo in his lap so Taemin doesn’t have to climb over them.

“Guh. Alright, yeah, of course I will,” Taemin sighs. “I’ll bring donuts too, because, like, sorry.” Jonghyun gently fixes Taemin’s hair for him, plucking the light brown strands to sit on the right side of his black part. “Alright, an hour, tops,” Taemin says. “Bye,” and as soon as he hangs up he flops dramatically back against the couch with a loud sigh, a quiet groan, an aggressive wiggle of inconvenience. Jonghyun pats his tum sympathetically.

“You can’t act surprised,” he says. “This happens every year.” Every year Taemin sets up a special weekend harvest sale at his plant nursery and every year it gets too popular to handle without him there to manage in person. Taemin sighs again, covering Jonghyun’s hand with his.

“I know,” he grumbles. “But usually they last another few hours at least.” He squeezes Jonghyun’s hand, falling slowly sideways until he’s pressing his face into the cushions at the other end of the couch. “I’m a bad boss,” he mumbles. Jonghyun rolls his eyes and tugs him up.

“You are not,” he says gently. “You’re just forgetful and… hmm.” He frowns, not really sure how to excuse the whole “knowing they’ll need help on a big event but not going until they call” thing. That is kind of shitty. “You’ll be there from the beginning next year,” he tries, setting Roo on the ground and wiggling behind Taemin to push him to his feet. He definitely will be because Jonghyun won’t let him do this for a fifth year in a row.

“Yeah, okay,” Taemin says, and then sighs again. “I’m gonna get cleaned up, jerk off,” he mumbles, poking Jonghyun’s cheek and shuffling to the bathroom. Jonghyun hums in reply and lies down again, taking up the whole couch now that he can. Picking Roo up from the floor, he holds her gently under his chin and gets comfortable again to continue watching his alien documentary.

When Taemin comes shuffling back all ready to go a few minutes later, he stops to give Jonghyun a quick goodbye kiss.

“Save me a donut if you remember,” Jonghyun smiles, patting his cheek for good luck. Taemin gives him a thumbs up and Roo a pat and slouches out of the front door, fixing up the nametag on his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #rip in pieces taem   
> #hes a good boss he just avoids actually working as much as possible   
> #and the others always get to be the manager nd shut down anus customers   
> #luna is especially good at it   
> #anyway he drives out to the town nd buys donuts nd hot chocolate and grumbles into the back room and they all giggle at him   
> #but he comes out all ready to work and be all professional nd shit   
> #deals with ppl nd rings up customers nd gives advice to shoppers   
> #nd is Rly Good at what he does its p impressive tbh   
> #like just bc he never wants to do it it doesnt mean he cant do it lmao   
> #nd after the day is over hes So Tired but he buys the others dinner anyway bc hes a good egg   
> #nd he brings jong home leftovers and kissies and a donut   
> #he wrote on his hand to not forget the donut   
> #nd he lies on jong and nuzzles him and sleeps and its good   
> #also when i say soft jingle i mean taems ringtone is literally just screamo


	15. Early Mornings (Daylight Saving Time)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka technically its not early but it is to taem

Taemin doesn’t wake up to his gentle alarm and warm covers. He wakes up to no blankets and chilly arms and half of a boner. He ignores the latter in favor of groping around for his blanket for more warmth. He feels refreshed, but if if there’s no soft screamo from his phone to keep him up then it’s not early enough to get up. He finds his blanket and pulls it up to his chin, curling up small on his side with a satisfied hum. Nice. **  
**

Then, as if to mock his comfort, less than a minute later the covers flutter down to his waist again. He whines low in his throat, cracking his eyes open to glare at his bed intruder. It’s Jonghyun, the little dingle, and he’s smiling fondly as he slides himself under the covers and shakes the bed all around like he thinks it’s cute that he’s woken Taemin up. Taemin doesn’t even remember going to sleep with him. He could have sworn he took Minjung’s bed last night, because she left two days ago and it still smells like her, but here Jonghyun is, amused and intrusive.

“Fuckie off,” he grumbles, clutching the blankets tightly around himself when Jonghyun pulls them back up. Jonghyun snorts, reaches over, and pokes Taemin’s cheek. Taemin snaps at his finger grumpily. “You woke me up early,” he says. Unforgivable. Again, Jonghyun snorts, this time turning to lie on his stomach. He slides his arm over Taemin’s shoulder and smirks at him with his cheek smushed against his pillow.

“Okay, one,” he says. “You were up before I came back in, so don’t even start. And two,” He pauses to gently tuck some of Taemin’s bangs away from his face. Taemin shakes them back into his eyes defiantly. Jonghyun can’t care about him while he’s being grumpy. That’s against the rules. Jonghyun laughs softly at his attitude and fixes his hair again. “It’s not even early,” he says. “It’s… ten minutes after you usually wake up, actually.” He pulls his phone from under the covers and wiggles it. Taemin huffs without even looking.

“Nuh uh,” he says petulantly. He would know if it was ten minutes passed his usual time. “My alarm didn’t go off.” Jonghyun is laughing again and Taemin is not fond of it at all. “What,” he grumbles.

“Daylight savings,” Jonghyun says simply.

Taemin blinks slowly back at him.

“Oh,” he says. He forgot about that. He turns slowly to see his clock turned back an hour to read nine instead of ten. “Hmm,” he says. That would explain why he woke up feeling refreshed. He got a whole ten extra minutes of sleep and everything. “So,” he says, turning back to Jonghyun and rubbing his face against the pillow. “What you’re saying, is, I’ve woken up an hour early, out of the good discipline of my heart, and am a respectable, eager-to-serve member of society that should be praised for my devotion and dedication to work in the capitalist grind?” He flashes a winning smile, fully aware of his morning breath and sleep crusted eyes. Jonghyun just looks at him for a moment before gently placing his whole hand over Taemin’s face.

“If that’s what you wanna call it,” he says, and Taemin grins as he licks Jonghyun’s palm. That is exactly what he wants to call it. “You’re not even going to go to work today,” Jonghyun says, wiping Taemin’s spit on his shoulder. Taemin shrugs. True.

“I serve society just by existing in my greatness,” he says.

“Same,” Jonghyun mumbles back. Taemin nods. Dang straight. They don’t even  _need_  to serve society to have value as humans. He humphs at capitalism, except it turns into more of a yawn that he muffles into his pillow. Turning to lie on his stomach, he hisses at the pressure that puts on his dick. Right. He forgot about that little fucker. Letting out a slow breath, he tries to relieve some pressure without blatantly grinding against the sheets. He doesn’t need to be doing laundry so early in the morning.

“You have a boner,” Jonghyun hums, and Taemin doesn’t even have to look to know that he’s smirking. He reaches out to poke his finger into Jonghyun’s neck with a little grin.

“Maybe,” he mumbles, “but, hey.” He turns again and opens his eyes to look into Jonghyun’s. “Wanna go out to breakfast?” he asks. “That little restaurant at the edge of the forest.” If he’s actually up early enough for once to be ready and get there before too late then he doesn’t want to miss it. Even so, he slides his hand up to cup Jonghyun’s face, rubbing his thumb comfortingly over his cheekbone. He knows that diners and restaurants are still a sore subject for Jonghyun after what happened in June, but the one he’s talking about has outdoor seating and always lets dogs inside anyway. It’ll be fine.

“Mmmh,” Jonghyun hums. Taemin watches his thinking face, watches his expression go through a range of emotions in an internal conversation before he settles on a tiny smile. “Yeah, okay,” he says. Taemin smiles back in victory. Nice.

An hour later, ten minutes into breakfast, Taemin’s alarm goes off in the middle of the diner and he fights down a blush as he fumbles to shut his phone up with Jonghyun muffling giggles next to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #it is soft and warm like mashed potatoe   
> #technically its called daylight saving time but like who cares lmao   
> #also @that dick pun i didnt even mean to do that lmao   
> #@me nice   
> #jong is still wiggly about restaurants after the whole thing at the petting zoo   
> #nd he is v smol and shy and is holding roo v close to him and looking at the ground while taem asks for an outside seat   
> #and there are ppl but not that many bc its early   
> #taem orders for him and gives him many paps and makes him giggle and smile   
> #roo gets a lil extra order of bacon   
> #nd it is good and happy   
> #they get snapchats from minjung just alone in the lap fucking around   
> #bc literally everyone else slept in and came to work an hour late   
> #gwi was hecked up by it but only a lil bit   
> #jinki didnt even notice lmao there are no clocks in the wilderness   
> #like theres his laptop nd his phone or whatever but its not like hes on a schedule or anything that would get messed up anyway lmao


	16. Charming One-Liners (Smoky Wood)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka jinki is back early and is as suave as ever

Jonghyun rests his head against Jinki’s shoulder, comfortable together on their little log bench, staring into the campfire he started earlier happily. The soup pot hangs above it, the rabbit Jinki caught only a few days ago cooking up inside. The twilight sky is bright and grey, full of gorgeous clouds, and the smell of the fire just enhances the rest of the scents of the forest. The trees, the dirt, the leaves, the crisp fabric softener he can pick up on Jinki’s flannel shirt.… Jonghyun turns his head to sniff, to really inhale the scent of his babe. He gets a soft laugh for his actions. **  
**

“Hi,” Jinki says, pushing his hair out of his face when he looks up. “You’re adorable.”

“Oooh.” Jonghyun blushes gently at that quiet compliment, that honey smooth voice. Jinki is always full of them and yet he’s still never ready. He presses his face into the crook of Jinki’s shoulder, sliding his arms around his waist to hold him tight. He’s so happy that Jinki came back from camping early. He was barely gone for three days. He’ll be gone before the week ends again, yeah, but still. Jonghyun is used to that. It’s his unexpected return that’s had him over the moon. He loves when good things come out of nowhere.

Jinki pulls away from Jonghyun’s hold to lean to the side and dig in his tupperware box for a fork, then leans over the fire to stab gently at the rabbit soup. Jonghyun can’t see in the pot, but the satisfied little noise Jinki makes when he sets the fork on a napkin fills Jonghyun with hope. Nice. He’s been hungry for, like, an hour.

“Ready?” he asks, reaching for Jinki’s elbow with sleeve-covered hands.

“Almost,” Jinki hums back, relaxing back into the bench. “When Taem’s done inside, it will be.” He nods towards the cabin and Jonghyun gasps softly. Nice. Taemin has been in there making little dessert ice cream bowls for a while and has to be almost done by now. Jonghyun is excited. He loves nights like this. He reaches over to take Jinki’s hand to hold, wanting to share the warmth and feel their fingers linked together. He smiles, rubbing his thumb over Jinki’s skin, and closes his eyes. He’s so relaxed. The fire crackles and pops, warm but not too hot, and together with Jinki’s overwhelmingly comforting existence lulls him into contentment. He feels so perfect right now. When Jinki’s hand starts running lightly up and down his arm, he sighs, melting against his side. How wonderful.

“Hey,” Jinki says quietly. So quietly that Jonghyun almost misses it, and he only really reacts when Jinki nudges his side.

“Hmm?” he says. He nuzzles Jinki’s shoulder to show that he’s listening.

“Wanna know why I came back so early?” Jinki asks. There’s a soft smile in his voice. Jonghyun opens his eyes to see it on his lips too.

“Why?” he asks. He has been curious. It’s not like Jinki to come back so suddenly. Usually he’s gone for at least two weeks. Jinki squeezes him, leans down and presses a slow kiss to his lips.

“I forgot to kiss you goodbye,” he murmurs. He kisses Jonghyun again, soft and warm, and Jonghyun feels surprise and adoration and excitement and just  _emotion_  filling him up into a vivid blush. Holy shit. Jinki pulls back to look at his blush with a soft laugh. “Also, I dropped my only spoon into the lake,” he says. “But,” he adds, cutting of Jonghyun’s incredulous snort with another peck, “I could live without that.” He tugs on Jonghyun’s waist until Jonghyun is sitting full in his lap, legs on either side of his hips. His expression is open and honest under hooded eyes. “But I just couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

And Jonghyun thought  _he_  was the witty one-line-charmer of the family. He breathes in slowly, too overwhelmed to even make words happen, and buries his face into Jinki’s neck. Holy frick. Holy hecking frickie. Jinki’s hands rub up and down over his back and Jonghyun can just feel his heart thudding away next to Jinki’s calm one. The fire heats his back but he knows it’s not what’s causing him to warm up from the inside out. He knows that he thinks this a lot, but he’s never been more sure of a demi partner in his life. Picking his head back up once he collects himself, he smiles and presses it to Jinki’s lips.

“I’d better kiss you extra lots to make up for it then,” he says, winding his arms around Jinki’s neck. Jinki hums, pulling him ever closer with strong hands.

“Good idea,” he says, and kisses Jonghyun again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #listen.... jongyu is so good   
> #its just jinki being big nd warm nd suave nd jong being little nd happy nd charmed   
> #its Good   
> #jinki has ocd lmao nd one of his v important rituals is kissiein jong goodbye   
> #but he Forgot somehow nd he Just Kept Thinking about it   
> #so like yeah its bc hes literally mentally ill   
> #but why say that when he could make it Romantic nd make jonghyun Flutter on the inside instead   
> #taem comes out nd theyre making out nd hes like oh lmao hi nd nuzzles jinkis side   
> #nd jinkis like mmm hello uwu nd touches his butt   
> #nd taems like uwu   
> #nd they eat their rabbit soup made out of jinkis bunny and taes veggies and jong poured the water in   
> #and then taem does and gets his lil ice cream cups and they have melty dessert by the fire   
> #and then they go back and snuggle jinki to sleep   
> #and its Good


	17. A Reassuring Babe (Maize Maze)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka jong is lost but taem is there

There are bugs around. **  
**

Lots of bugs.

Taemin wraps his blanket more around himself defensively, holding it up over his nose so only his eyes peep out. A moth flutters over the hole in his ripped jeans and he grumbles, wiggling an inch up the hill and away from it.

“Fuck off,” he mumbles, and watches it closely until it flaps away towards all of the little fair booths down the path. Good. Taemin was already there a while ago, wandering through the crowd for snacks and prize tickets while Jonghyun walked down the hill for his yearly attempt at the maize maze. This hill isn’t high enough for Taemin to be able to see over the corn, but he’s sure that Jonghyun is still down there, figuring his way out with Roo plodding along at his side. Two brave adventurers. Taemin has snacks and a cute plush puppy to reward them with when they come back and everything, and then they can all get dinner and go home.

A gust of wind flows up the hill and makes him grimace, makes him remember the second reason why he’s bundled so high up his face. The wind brings with it the smell of corn and dust and he covers his nose up even more before his nausea overtakes him. He can’t stand it. He hopes Jonghyun remembers to give himself another spray of perfume before he comes back up the hill this time. At least the smell coupled with the constant fear of getting eaten alive by killer moths is keeping his dick down.

And now he’s thinking about his dick.

“Damn it,” he mutters, and flops back to lie over their picnic blanket and then curls up on his side. He pulls his bag closer to his head, nuzzling into it like a pillow and wiggling one hand in for his bottle of water. “Chill, you fucking sea cucumber,” he grumbles at his dick before it can even start to try to get his attention. He doesn’t need that shit. He stares aggressively at the grass at the edge of the blanket, searching for ants and beetles and whatever the fuck else to make his skin crawl because at least then he won’t get a full boner. The rest of his body can be as horny as it wants; he doesn’t care about that. He just doesn’t want to pitch a tent in a family-friendly public area.

He legitimately screams a few minutes later when his bag suddenly vibrates under his ear; it’s a short scream, quickly stifled, but it still left his throat and it still makes him blush furiously as he shoots into a sitting position. The blanket falls into his lap and he whips his head around to glare at his bag. What the fuck.

“Fucking–killer bees or what the fuck ever,” he hisses, shoving his hand into the bag to pull out his phone. “Fuck vibration mode, god–” He doesn’t even know why his phone was set to that when it freaks him the fuck out every time. He must have done it by accident. When he reads the name he takes a moment to calm himself down before answering. Wouldn’t want Jonghyun to think he was mad at him or anything. “Yeah, hey, hi,” he says, shuddering at the scent on the wind and lifting his blanket back up to cover his face. “You okay?”

“Mmm… I’m lost,” Jonghyun says, and his pout is the most obvious thing on the planet. Taemin tsks, squinting down the hill at the maize maze. He can see the entrance and exit, but no Jonghyun.

“Are you doing okay, or are you panicking about it?” he asks. “Do you want me to help you count your breaths?” He’ll be Jonghyun’s anxiety app if he needs him to be. He’s done it before; usually these corn mazes are hit and miss with Jonghyun. He either finds his way out or calls Taemin crying. This year, at least, they agreed that he’d call  _before_  it got that bad, and it looks like he did.

“Not panicking, yet,” Jonghyun mumbles. “I’m sitting here and petting Roo very much and that’s nice but there was a group of teenagers earlier and they were being really loud and I lost track of where I’ve been and–” He stops himself with a shaky breath, and Taemin counts the seconds of it in his head. Shorter in, longer out. Good. “Anyway,” Jonghyun says. “Can you just stay with me until I get out?” he asks, voice tiny.

“Yeah, of course,” Taemin says, smiling warmly even though Jonghyun can’t see because he knows that Jonghyun will be able to hear it in his voice. “I have the map of the maze somewhere,” he says, turning to dig in his bag. He always gets one before Jonghyun goes in. “But you can just follow a wall, too.” That usually works better than Taemin trying to guide him through anyway.

“Mmhmm. Thanks, Taem,” Jonghyun says. Taemin hears him shuffling to stand up and the clinks of Roo’s leash in his opposite hand. He hugs his knees to his chest and stares at the entrances to the maze, waiting for the moment that his love appears.

“No problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #this is v important to me   
> #theyre at the ranch again even tho the ranch kinda lowkey triggers jonghyun now   
> #bc the corn festival is always so different from the petting zoos anyway it kinda feels like a different place   
> #and the petting zoo thing had nothing to do with the maize maze so jong is good wit it   
> #taem talks to him v low nd soothing all the way through   
> #until he sees lil roo wiggling out nd jong following her   
> #nd he just uwu uwu uwu there u are nd jongs like u w u here i am   
> #v proud of himself   
> #and he gets his lil prize popcorn bag from the workers nd picks roo up and carries her up the hill   
> #and sits next to taem and nuzzles him and taem wraps him up in his lil blankie also   
> #and they kinda leave to eat in the car lmao bc its just So Corny Smelly and taem Hates   
> #and then they get mcnuggies nd go home nd theyre all v uwu bc it was a lovely time   
> #also taem h8s vibration mode bc 1 bees nd evil bugs bzzz which is a vibration noise   
> #nd 2 sometimes his phone is in his butt pocket or just close enough to his dick that the lil vibration makes him pop a boner   
> #so he just has his screamo ringtone on full volume all the time instead lmao


	18. blurngherm (Scarecrows)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka taem is still at war with the squirrels

_“Look at this.” **  
**_

“WHAT–the _fuck_  is that, Taemin,” Jonghyun hisses, putting his hand over his heart to calm the fucking staccato against his ribcage that Taemin just caused. He grips his guitar tightly with his other hand by reflex and looks away from whatever the fuck it is that Taemin just shoved in his face to glare at Taemin himself, who looks far too giddy and excited for someone that somehow managed to drive up, walk into the front door, go all the way through the house, and open Jonghyun’s bedroom door in silence. He didn’t even wake Roo up. What the fuck.

“It’s a scaresquirrel,” Taemin says, wiggling it again and holding it up so Jonghyun can actually see it. It looks like it’s just a big fake owl in plastic packaging. “Like, a scarecrow but for squirrels,” Taemin says brightly. Jonghyun looks from it to him slowly. Oh.

“Uh… huh,” he says. Taemin bites his lip eagerly and sits himself down on the floor right in front of Jonghyun, fumbling with the packaging with his clumsy fingers. Jonghyun lowers his guitar to rest in his lap and pulls his headphones all the way off. He thinks this might take a while.

“Because,” Taemin grunts, wiggling his finger under some cardboard and tearing it away. “I know I didn’t do those screens  _perfectly_ or whatever over the garden boxes last month.” He wiggles his hands for emphasis and Jonghyun snorts in disbelief. He knows for a fact that Taemin  _did_ , but Taemin is never satisfied with anything he does himself. He’s probably just referring to being half a centimeter off on one corner of mesh. “And this scaresquirrel will be, like  _double_  protection,” Taemin grins. He yanks the owl out of it’s mold with a noise of exertion and excited eyes. “Like two condoms,” he says.

“That’s–”

“Okay, yeah, I know, I realized as soon as it left my mouth that that was a horrible comparison, shut up.” Taemin waves a hand with a grimace to interrupt Jonghyun’s comment; Jonghyun grins, amused, exhaling a short laugh. He was worried for a moment there that Taemin forgot basic sex ed. “But, look,” Taemin says. He flaps out the instruction manual and thrusts it into Jonghyun’s lap. “She’s motion activated.”

She is indeed; Jonghyun’s brows raise as he looks at all of the little features that this owl has. Motion detection, full head rotation, extending wings, realistic noises….

“Taemin,” Jonghyun says, looking up slowly. Taemin hums in reply, struggling to open the little battery cap on the bottom of the bird. “How much was this?” he asks. He wiggles the little instruction packet pointedly; Taemin pops off the battery cover with a triumphant little noise.

“Like, thirty-something dollars,” he shrugs. “Plus the batteries.” He picks up a little pack of batteries to show Jonghyun before opening that to. Jonghyun hums, disapproving but not upset. Thirty dollars for a robot owl isn’t bad, he guesses. “There was a seventy-dollar one that sprayed water at the little fuckers, too,” Taemin says, “but I can do that by myself with the hose, so.” He shrugs again and squints at his batteries to put them inside the right ways. Jonghyun watches him for a moment, then laughs softly. Holy shit.

“You’re really something, you know that?” he says. A real gem. All riled up and excited for advancements in his own personal war against the squirrels.

“Thanks,” Taemin grins. He slaps the battery cover back into place and gathers everything else up in his arms. “I’m gonna go set her up outside,” he says eagerly. Standing up clumsily, he scurries out of Jonghyun’s room, tugging the door closed with a free pinky, and not one more minute passes before Jonghyun hears him barging outside into the back yard. He shakes his head and picks up his guitar again, fixing his headphones back over his ears and picking up where he left off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #listen i googled squirrel scarecrows nd theyre just a bunch of robot owls lmao   
> #he sets it up over his tulip bulbs bc those are the ones he really Really cares about   
> #also jong goes out there and looks at it and is Invested and Interested in taems stuff later   
> #but rn hes too surprised and thrown off to rly get into it lmao   
> #hes just tryna write some songs and chill with his pupper nd Suddenly taem is shoving an owl in his face   
> #taem gets excited about things its not his fault


	19. Extra Affection (Pumpkin Patch)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka taem loves his pumpkins and also gwi

“Mmmm. Mwah.” **  
**

“Did you just kiss your pumpkin?”

“Yeah.” Taemin sighs dreamily and rubs his cheek against his pumpkin, eyes closed to really take in the experience. It’s gonna rain soon and he needs to appreciate her as much as possible before that. She is big and round and heavy, nestled comfortably between his legs with his arms around her top. He can’t even reach all the way around. She’s his biggest personally grown pumpkin ever and he is extremely proud. He wiggles closer, getting dirt all over his pants and not caring in the slightest, just so he can hug her tighter. He loves. Her name is Estela and she is just as much of a star as her name implies. “She’s a lesbian,” he smiles, giving her little pats and another tiny kiss.

“You’re an adventure,” Kibummie mumbles, and Taemin cracks open his eyes to smirk at them sitting at the picnic table with her own pumpkins.

“Thanks,” he says, watching her scoop out seeds from one of the smaller ones Taemin gave them from the patch earlier. “Your pumpkin’s name was Isandro,” he says conversationally. “He was an aroace enby with OCD and he really liked bad romcoms and–”

“Okay, can you like, stop personifying this pumpkin while I’m elbow deep inside of it?” Kibummie says, and Taemin laughs at their twisted little frown. “You’re making me feel like a monster.”

“Murderer,” Taemin mumbles playfully, and dodges the wet pumpkin seed that Kibummie chucks at his head. “Are you gonna roast these?” he asks next, absentmindedly scooping some dirt over the one seed. It won’t grow, but he’ll let it dream.

“Yeah,” Kibummie says. “And make a big pie for you guys and a little pie for me to take home.” They flick pumpkin guts off of her arm and Taemin gasps softly.

“Nice,” he hisses. He thought she was just going to take a few home with them like usual. He hums happily, nuzzling Estela and rubbing his hands over her smooth surface. It’s definitely gonna rain soon and that prerain smell is filling his lungs in the best possible way. He’s so happy.

“Can you stop feeling up your pumpkin, by the way?” Kibummie asks then. They glance up to throw him an uncomfortable little frown; her foot is bouncing lightly against the dirt in one of her usual uncomfortable stims. “Like, you deadass look like you want to fuck that pumpkin right now.”

“I do not want to _fuck_  the  _pumpkin,_ ” Taemin says, only half faking his huffiness. So what if he has a boner right now. It’s only because he’s feeling so happy and satisfied that this beautiful pumpkin exists. He barely even notices it. And so what if one time he jerked himself off to the thought of how well his whole pumpkin patch was growing. That was just his ADD mixing with his hypersexuality and switching his orgasm thoughts around too fast and too close to the end. Not his fault at all. Also, “She’s a _lesbian_ ,” he repeats. He can’t fuck a lesbian.

“Yeah, well,” Kibummie mumbles. “Bluh.” They scoop more pumpkin guts out of Isandro with a little scrunch of her face. Taemin chuckles fondly and just crosses his arms on top of his pumpkin instead, resting his head on top of them. Even if it’s super improbable that he’ll fuck the pumpkin he’ll stop being so lovey-dovey on her. He’s not gonna be the asshole that gives Kibummie a panic attack. He just watches them, her golden blonde bangs, her thick black glasses, her cute unicorn earrings. Adorable.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks, murmuring it into the cool afternoon air. He’s almost surprised when the question leaves him; he didn’t mean to say it out loud, but it’s not like it wasn’t at the front of his mind. They look too good to not want to kiss right now. Kibummie pauses, looks up from her work, cocks a brow at him. He smiles hopefully back, but as the silence stretches between them, he feels his insecurity rising _. Don’t bring up the hyper thing don’t bring up the hyper thing don’t be fucking weird about it and make his hyper thing a barrier again don’t bring up–_

“Are you still eating that garbage cucumber gum?” Kibummie asks.

“Nah,” Taemin grins, and the word is a heavy breath of relief. Thank fuck. He smiles wide and pulls out the pack of gum he still has in his jacket pocket. “Strawberry.”

“Hmm.” Kibummie squints at him, chin in her hand, pumpkin guts dripping from her spoon; Taemin does his best to look as lovely and kissable as possible. “C’mere,” Kibummie says, becoming him up with a single finger. Taemin hisses in victory, wiggling to his feet and brushing dirt off of his butt. His boner twinges at him from the sudden movement but he ignores it in favor of sliding himself onto the picnic bench. He scoots all the way down to Kibummie until their thighs are touching, leaning his chin on her shoulder and smiling up close against her jaw.

“Hi,” he hums, pressing a little peck there.

“Hey,” Kibummie laughs, ducking away from the tickles but turning back to tilt his chin up more for a proper kiss. “Only for a little bit, though,” they say, and Taemin nods. He knows.

“Mmhmm,” he hums. “Mwah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #which kibum i dont know   
> #listen taekey is also v important   
> #he just uwu snuggles her and gives her many lil kissies   
> #and tells them she is v lovely and cute   
> #and gwi just u w u and is v smug about it   
> #for like five minutes nd then she starts feelin kinda weird   
> #and he paps her and just nuzzles her shoulder instead and watches them finish scoopin out isandros brains   
> #'''can u not call the pumpkin by a real name please''' '''isandro always did like nicknames :)''' '''oh my god'''


	20. morning boners lmao (Turning The Heater On Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka its rly cold and thats kind of a cockblock

“Mmmh.” Jonghyun has been drifting in and out of sleep for the passed twenty minutes, but what finally wakes him up is a heavy arm sliding over his bare chest. He inhales slowly, puffing himself up before letting it all out even slower. It’s dull and gray outside, but bright morning light still peeps through his lazily drawn curtains. He opens his eyes, squints at it, blinks heavily, and turns his head away. He’s met with Taemin instead, dark blonde hair messy in his sleepy eyes and a lazy smile on his lips. Oh. Taemin shifts forward and presses those lips to Jonghyun before Jonghyun can do anything more than just smile sleepily back.

“Morning,” he murmurs, arm tugging him half an inch closer with a small squeeze. Jonghyun turns away to laugh softly so he doesn’t breathe his morning breath into Taemin’s face.

“Morning,” he replies, and then giggles and scrunches when Taemin kisses his shoulder, his collarbone, up his neck. Taemin’s lips are warm and his breath is hot, their body heat shared together underneath their thick blankets, and Jonghyun feels like the coziest little bean ever. It’s good.

“Would you,” Taemin says, and kisses Jonghyun’s neck again, “be interested,” with a kiss under his ear, “in some morning fricking?” And his lips attach to the corner of his jawline, sucking just sharply enough in Jonghyun’s sensitive spot to make him hiss. He chuckles towards the ceiling but doesn’t move his head away.

“I could be persuaded, yeah,” he hums. His slight shifting under the covers has made him aware of the morning boner between his legs. It feels like Taemin has one too, when he hums happily and slings his leg over Jonghyun’s waist. Looks like they can pick up where they left off from their fricking last night.

“Allow me to persuade you, then,” Taemin says. He nuzzles his face against Jonghyun’s shoulder and slips his arm underneath the covers. Jonghyun closes his eyes and smiles lazily as Taemin runs his fingertips over Jonghyun’s bare chest, down his stomach, over his thighs with feathery light, teasing touches. He turns a fraction more to face Taemin, Taemin tugs the blankets down to see what he’s doing, and Jonghyun suddenly gets really, really cold.

“ _Holy_ –shit,” he hisses, snapping his hand out to grab Taemin’s wrist on reflex. He can feel the goosebumps appearing on his skin already. “Holy shit. Wait, wait.” His shivery breaths turn into shivery laughter, loud laughter that he turns to muffle into his pillow. Taemin drapes over his back but Jonghyun can feel that he’s laughing quietly too, the quickness of his breaths, the smile against his skin.

“Whoops,” Taemin says, and soon after Jonghyun feels him yanking the blankets back up over their heads. He sighs under their warmth, under Taemin’s heat on top of him, and bravely thrusts one arm out for his phone. Squinting at the brightness of his lockscreen, he taps to his weather app and waits for it to load. When it does, he feels his very soul get offended.

“Holy shit,” he says again. He turns to peep at Taemin and show him his phone. “It’s, like, barely sixty,” he says.

“What the fuck,” Taemin says immediately. “It’s fucking freezing out there.” He slides himself even more on top of Jonghyun with an exaggerated shiver. Jonghyun nods his agreement. What the hecking frickie. They don’t deserve this.

“I’m gonna turn the heater on,” he says. He wiggles until Taemin gets off of him, then maneuvers with as much sleepy skill as he can muster to get off of the bed with only one blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He’s not going through the whole house naked. On the bed, Taemin nods, tugging the leftover blankets around his shoulders.

“I’ll, uh,” he says, a tiny smirk on his lips as his eyes find the slight redness on Jonghyun’s skin leftover from his lips. “Get a shower ready.” He cocks a brow in invitation and Jonghyun cocks one right back in acceptance.

“I’ll meet you there,” he says, and flutters his blanket cape importantly when he turns to the door. His grin only grows when Taemin reaches out to touch his butt as he leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #'''but sixty isnt cold'''' u say   
> #nd i say i live in california fuck u anything under seventy is freezing   
> #anyway jong turns the heater up and the whole house smells like months old dust   
> #but taem loves that smell and the whole house is also very warm   
> #so it is okay   
> #they take a shower together and make out nd jerk each other off nd its good   
> #and then they snuggle on the couch and sit on the heater under a big blankie when it comes on during the day   
> #and that is Really good


	21. Arts nd Crafts (Book Pressing)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka jongkey are too cute for taem

“You’re so rock and roll, whoa….”

“Do you still not have any new lyrics for that yet?”

“Listen. It’s a work in progress.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Can you pass me the glue?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank.”

Taemin feels so warm. Warm and fuzzy and content, heavy and happy as he smiles across the kitchen table with his chin in his hands. Jonghyun gently sponges scrapbook glue to the back of his leaf, taking care to get every little corner. Kibummie places one of her own brown leaves delicately into her scrapbook, very carefully traces a line of regular stick glue around it, and then sets it off to the side. Picking up orange glitter, they press in a sparkly outline that has them smiling that proud smile of hers. Next to them, Jonghyun gasps softly.

_“That’s so cute,”_ he whispers. He places his sticky leaf down on his paper and smooths it out quickly but gently. When he reaches over the table for the glitter, Kibummie reaches over him for the scrapbook glue. Through the window outside, heavy rain falls from a dark sky, but in front of Taemin, the table is full of color and crafts. It’s a good contrast and Taemin watches them both so focused on their own work with nothing but fondness in his heart.

“You’re both cute,” he says, hums it out in a voice that’s barely more than a whisper. “I love you,” he adds when they look up. Their cuteness deserves his open honesty. Jonghyun drops his glitter and immediately puts his face in his hands, a soft “ooooohhhh” whispered through his fingers; Kibummie’s cheeks go pink and she brings her hand up to nibble on one of her chewy rings.

“Oh my fucking god,” they mumble around it. Taemin’s smile grows wider. He loves flustering both of them at the same time. It’s a talent that almost as refined as Jinki’s and he’s proud of it. He stands up so he can lean over the table, fit his hand under Jonghyun’s chin, angle his face up, and press a soft kiss to his mouth.

“Adorable,” he whispers, and grins when Jonghyun makes a tiny noise and leans back to hide his face in his hands again. He turns to Kibummie next and just leans close. “Can I?” he asks, glancing to her lips and back. They’re still chewing on their ring but they nod and lower her hand anyway, giving Taemin acces. She nibbles on his bottom lip when he kisses her and he laughs against her mouth. He’s not even surprised. “Lovely,” he tells them when he pulls away to sit back down. Both of them. Adorable and lovely.

“Shouldn’t you be making your own pages?” Jonghyun asks. His voice is the tiny pout it gets when he’s extra flattered and he peeps at Taemin through his fingers. “Instead of hitting on us?”

“Yeah,” Kibummie says accusingly. “Did you not notice how I’m going for ‘intimidating’ today?” She points at her makeup, which admittedly is all dark and sharp under her styled up hair. She looks like they could step on someone, if they weren’t blushing through her contour. Taemin chuckles softly and shrugs, looking down at his own work.

“I mean,” he says, lifting his hand to smother his smile. He doesn’t exactly have much. A smudged ink leaf outline and some glue on the page that’s half-dry by now with nothing actually stuck to it. He got distracted near the beginning. He looks up to see both of them giving him judging looks; he shrugs again. “Do you have lipstick on you?” he asks them. “I can kiss the page now so later I can remember how happy I was when I kissed both of you cuties.”

And he’s done it again; with an honest expression and an eyebrow wiggle he has Jonghyun pushing himself and his chair so far back that he bumps against the fridge and Kibummie aggressively searching her bag to avoid looking at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #gwi a dark intimidating sharp styled up babe driving in the thundering rain through a dark forest full of gnarled trees   
> #to visit her cute datefriends in their warm cozy cabin to scrapbook cute leaves   
> #bc ppl kept honking and yelling in the rainy traffic and the sound of cars driving down the wet street is always garbage   
> #they have Escaped #they spent like an hour just lying in her room in the dark in silence before she came back out lmao   
> #nd uwu they all finish their lil scrapbook pages   
> #taem kissies his page with gwis dark purple lipstick and labels it Adorable jongkey   
> #gwis putting the page into the actual book at home later nd they blushie again   
> #taem is v smug about it


	22. brrrbrbrbrbrbrbrrrbrb (Cold Work Days)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka its cold outside nd jong disapproves but taem has plants to take care of

It’s cold.

Jonghyun knew this from the moment he woke up; from the moment Roo wiggled her body and her wet little nose under his toasty haven of covers and whined and poked at him until he took her outside to pee. He knew this as he shivered in the crisp foggy morning air under one of Minjunggie’s cozy sweaters and he frowned it at Taemin when he found the little goober outside already, pulling weeds from around his carrots.

Taemin had whined and waved his stern little pouts away, mumbling sleepily about his plants and weeds and trimming and all sorts of things that  _had_ to be done today. Jonghyun didn’t believe that at all, but Taemin stubbornly clung to his plant box until Jonghyun sighed and gave up, scooping Roo back into his arms and grumbling at her about his popsicle of a boyfriend.

Minutes later Taemin  _did_  accept the thick gloves and knit scarf Jonghyun wrapped around him, though, so Jonghyun supposes he can’t be too grumpy. At least he’s not as cold as he could be. But still.

It’s several hours later and Taemin is still out there. Jonghyun’s fingers slow on his guitar, bottom lip between his teeth, for what feels like the hundredth time. He’s getting distracted with his worries about Taemin too much, he knows, but he can’t help it. He sets the guitar on his bed and wiggles to his knees to peep out of his window. Taemin is by his trees now, clipping stray branches and inspecting their little buds. Jonghyun is so warm inside, so lovely and cozy with the heater on and many blankets, but outside, the wind whips Taemin’s hair and pinks his cheeks.

Jonghyun pouts, watching Taemin rub a fallen leaf under his nose to smell. He can’t act like the sharpness of the cold air isn’t, like, stabbing him in the nostrils right now. Jonghyun sighs next, sitting back down in his blanket nest. He’ll come in and be nice and toasty warm eventually.

The next time he sees Taemin, it’s while he’s on the couch watching his nature documentaries. He hears the door open behind him and turns sleepily to see just a flash of Taemin’s sweater disappearing down the hallway. The bathroom door opens and closes next, and a few minutes and a flush later, Taemin flutters in front of the couch to press a cold kiss to Jonghyun’s lips. After a quick conversation (“Are you done yet?” “No, sorry.” “Mmm. You should eat.” “I had some apples.”), Taemin leaves Jonghyun again for the outside world. Jonghyun sighs as he hugs his pillow close to his head. Taemin is so cute but Jonghyun is so lonely.

He has Roo for that, though, so he shuffles to his bedroom to gently poke her awake from her nap. She snuffles in his neck as he carries her back to the couch and he falls asleep with her nestled under his arm.

When he wakes up, groggy and toasty warm several hours later, it’s dark outside. It’s not night yet, but the sun is setting behind grey clouds and Taemin is still out there. Jonghyun confirms this when he shuffles into the kitchen and peeps through the window. Taemin is rustling in his pumpkin patch, hands clumsy and wind tousling his hair. Jonghyun sighs, turning to start dinner. He’s just going to throw some stuff in the oven this time. Anything else is too much effort.

He’s sat at the table, chin in his hands, staring blandly at the oven while he waits for it to preheat when the back door opens again. A rush of cold air flows into the kitchen and makes Jonghyun shiver, but Taemin follows it, and the quiet way he smiles when he sees Jonghyun makes Jonghyun’s heart leap. He’s done.

Jonghyun gets out of his chair to slide his arms around Taemin’s waist, nuzzling into his neck and rubbing his hands over his back. Taemin is cold all over when he holds Jonghyun close and kisses his neck, but his voice is nothing but warmth when he hums a quiet, “You’re so comfortable” into Jonghyun’s shoulder. Jonghyun smiles, fond and pleased and loving that his babe has returned to him. He presses his own warm-as-possible kiss to Taemin’s cheek and pushes him gently away with instructions to take a hot shower. He needs one.

Taemin obeys with only a little protest in the form of wanting more kisses, which Jonghyun happily obliges before pushing him away more firmly.

Taemin comes back with blowdried hair and one of Jonghyun’s fuzziest sweaters just in time for dinner. Jonghyun hands him his plate with a nuzzle to the shoulder; Taemin sits down and pulls Jonghyun into his lap with a nuzzle to the neck.

“You’re so warm,” he whispers, pressing tiny kisses to Jonghyun’s skin and squeezing him close. Jonghyun feels an extra warmth start in his chest and the gentle treatment. This is good. This is wonderful. This is what dreams are made of.

Taemin crawls into bed with him that night, hands that are somehow still a little chilly holding Jonghyun’s and lifting them up for kisses. Jonghyun pulls the covers up high over the both of them and presses as close to Taemin as he possibly can. He wants to absorb every ounce of chill from his body and replace it with love and care. Taemin deserves that bliss of comfort as he drifts to sleep. He had a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #taem Had to do things today hed been putting too many things off for too long #nd he woke up nd had some coffee nd decided that Today Was The Day   
> #nd he did Everything and is v proud nd accomplished   
> #also taem came in another time while jong was makin himself a lil pb toast   
> #nd jong was like !!!! but taem jus scuttled to the bathroom nd said two words   
> #Jizz Hand   
> #nd jong just sighhhhhhs bc taem jerked himself off outside and he is so fond of his babe   
> #lee jizz hand taemin   
> #also roo is v cute nd shy and small and she cant be outside on her own   
> #bc the forest is big and scary and she is scared that she will get lost   
> #so she whines nd wiggles and nuzzles all over jong bc she needs to pee and yeah theres a lil doggie door   
> #but if he is not there with his hand on her leash what if she gets lost??????   
> #so he has to just watch her go to the bathroom every time   
> #he pats her lil head nd tells her good job


	23. hnergh (Camping)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka theyre taking a break from packing

“Allison, please step up. Let’s look at your best photo.”

“Ooh.” Jinki’s low hum of interest vibrates through his throat. Taemin presses closer, nuzzling his cheek against Jinki’s warm skin. They’re watching Next Top Model on Jinki’s laptop in the bed of his truck, a short break from the lazy packing they’d been doing all morning. Well, Jinki is watching it; Taemin is zoning out, the little square of the screen blurring in and out of focus with the green of the forest behind it, the brown of the cabin in the corner of his eye. He never could get into Jinki’s fashion shows. He’s content to just sit here next to Jinki, a heavy arm around his waist and a blanket over his legs and a thick roof over his head to shield him from the cold mist floating in the air, enjoying the last day of him being home before he goes off into the trees again.

He turns his head more into Jinki’s chest, nosing against his scratchy flannel. He smells fresh, fabric softener clean; not woody and rugged like he’s been in the woods for three weeks, but still a good smell. Taemin breathes deeply and enjoys everything about Jinki’s presence, his warmth, his rhythmic breathing, his sturdy body. This is good. Gentle pleasure fills him up, makes him tingle and buzz and feel warm all over with quiet happiness.

“Tae.” And Jinki’s voice is so good too, a low hum and a warm breath over his hair.

“Hmm?” Taemin asks quietly.

“You’re lowkey jerking off right now.”

“Oh–what? Oh.” Taemin blinks, shakes his head, notices that his hand is very much down his pants and thumbing precome lightly over the head of his dick. Shit. “Sorry,” he says quickly, wiggling his hand out of his pants. “I didn’t–”

“No, it’s fine,” Jinki says, and his voice is next to Taemin’s ear now, his head turned just enough to whisper against his skin without taking his eyes off of his laptop. His arm squeezes Taemin closer and his other hand holds Taemin’s wrist where it is. “Do you wanna finish?” he asks, lips pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. Taemin shudders, always weak for Jinki when he gets all quiet and big like this. It feels like Jinki is everywhere, on him, around him, inside his head. He doesn’t know if the heat he can feel in his cheeks was from before or from the embarrassment or from the sudden twitch of his cock, but honestly?

“Yeah,” he breathes. “Yeah.” He wants to finish.

“C’mere,” Jinki murmurs. With strong hands he lifts Taemin up and turns him around to sit in his lap. Taemin presses closer immediately, getting comfortable with his knees on either side of Jinki’s hips and one arm around his waist.

“Thank you,” he whispers, pressing kisses to Jinki’s neck. “Thank you sir, thank–”

“Shhh,” Jinki says softly. He pulls the blanket around Taemin’s waist and slips his hands down to smooth over his ass slowly, casually, through his sweats. “It’s not polite to interrupt people's’ shows,” he chides, and Taemin’s whole body flashes with heat. Oh. They’re doing  _this_  thing. This thing is much better than the thing that Taemin was trying to do.

He curls into Jinki’s neck, muffling his breathing into his skin as he wiggles his hand into his sweats. He grips his cock, pulls it out, and slides his hand down twice before he remembers and lifts his hand up again. Licking his palm, he slides it back, rubs it over his sensitive head with a soft hiss, fully wraps his hand around his shaft, and twists on the downstroke. There. Good. He sighs a long breath into the crook of Jinki’s neck, letting it out slowly and shakily to be as quiet as possible.

Jinki straight ignores him, doesn’t acknowledge his wet lips or his hand moving between their stomachs. He leans forward to tap the volume of his laptop up a few notches and Taemin shivers, arm wrapping tighter around him. He keeps his hand light on his cock; he wants to come, but not so soon that he doesn’t have enough time to savor this experience. Jinki’s thick fingers tap his ass through his sweats to the tune of the background music, so chill, so nonchalant, and slick drops of precome leak from Taemin’s hole to give his hand more slide.

The cold air from outside chills his neck but he can feel his pulse through his whole body, heavy and thick, making his head pound and muffling everything else out in the best way possible. He’s not getting enough air because he’s trying not to breathe loudly but even that makes him feel light, intensifies the sensations shooting through his veins. Every particularly good twist of his hand, every single press of his thumb into his slit, every time his pinky grazes his balls is a jolt of pleasure, a flash of heat, another addition to his internal scale that’s rapidly being pushed to its limit. It’s not possible that small bruises aren’t forming on Jinki’s waist right now with how tightly Taemin is gripping him–and still, he watches his laptop with pleasant interest.

Taemin wants to ride him. He wants to sink down on one of his thick cocks and grind his hips and work himself up and down. He wants to feel Jinki inside of him, rubbing his spot, stretching his asshole open with no effort, wants to feel his fingers running over and rubbing around his hole with no thought to it, casual and simple. He’s imagining it with his eyes closed and his forehead on Jinki’s shoulder: him, exposed and open, taking every ounce of pleasure that he wants from Jinki and not caring who sees because this is nothing even worth mentioning, because this is no different from Taemin just laying in his lap. Jinki is used to it, Taemin is free to act on his urges, nobody makes him feel bad about it, everybody thinks that he’s a babe–

“Ffffuh,” Taemin hisses, stopping himself short but not before he can start the word. He’s super sensitive now thinking about it, so much that every passing millisecond he feels himself growing closer to his orgasm. So much for savoring the moment.

Jinki tugs him up closer in his lap, a quick adjustment to get more comfortable, and that’s when Taemin’s orgasm hits him. In the few seconds he has before he can’t stop, he fumbles to push the hem of Jinki’s flannel up with a shaky hand.

His come lands mostly on Jinki’s stomach, partly on his hand, making everything even more slick and wet as Taemin’s mouth falls open and his hips jerk forward. His fingers twist in Jinki’s shirt, he breathes so much air in but can’t seem to figure out how to let it all go, his hips roll so far forward that the head of his dick presses against Jinki’s stomach and makes him twitch and hold everything tighter.

His high ends quickly, like usual, but he keeps jerking himself through it and then after. Every twitch, every hiss, every sharp spike of afterpleasure through his hypersensitive body slowly dies down until he’s eased himself into slouching down low in Jinki’s lap, head somewhere between his chin and his collarbones. He breathes slowly, in and out, and takes his time in trying to blink his eyes open. He hates those few seconds after an orgasm where everything is blurry.

When he finally does lift his hand up from his dick, it’s met almost immediately by something soft: a few sheets of paper towels. He snorts, taking them gratefully. He’s not even going to look at Jinki. He knows he’s got that smug ass smile on right now. He wipes his hand, wipes Jinki’s tum, makes the tiniest disapproving noise as he licks the paper towel and tries to rub some jizz out of the hem of Jinki’s sweats. Bluh. Oh well. They’re going into the laundry tomorrow morning anyway.

“You know,” he mumbles, and grins when Jinki gently shushes him. He sits up, leans back, and taps the spacebar of Jinki’s laptop. “You could’ve paused it,” he says, turning back with a cocked brow. Jinki grins back with a shrug. He squeezes Taemin’s butt hard enough to make him hiss and pulls his sweats back up over his dick.

“You like that I didn’t, though,” he says, and leans forward to play the video again. A soft chuckle falls from Taemin’s mouth. Yeah. Yeah, he did. He can’t deny that. He loves the casual nonchalantness of it. He wiggles out of Jinki’s lap, sprawling out over his truck bed’s space with his head on Jinki’s thigh, getting comfortable again to watch with him.

Before long he zones out, the little square of the screen blurring in and out of focus with the green of the forest behind it, the brown of the cabin in the corner of his eye. He never could get into Jinki’s fashion shows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #prompt: camping   
> #me: ..................but what if smut   
> #jong was inside all snuggly nd uwu taking a nap with roo   
> #anyway taem is a good egg and this particular kink of his is just like watered down free use lmao   
> #bc he doesnt care about like being able to frick wherever nd whenever he wants and he doesnt wanna frick like All The Time   
> #and he doesnt wanna make ppl uncomfy or anything by bein like super sexy all the time   
> #but he Just Wants it to be not as big of a deal   
> #he Just Wants to be able to ask for sex without feeling bad about it or even just be able to jerk himself off on the couch #and not have it be like a Thing like Oh Theres That Hyersexual again   
> #mmMMMmmm those kinks to combat internalized hate   
> #anyway its usually jinki that hes the most open with bc jinki likes fricking and thinks taem is cute and thinks fricking nd sexting is fun   
> #and jinki doms him so Easily and is p much always open to it bc whenever hes home its just to chill nd relax with his babes   
> #minjung has work to do so that cockblocks 2min a lot lmao but when shes not busy she is also v easy nd open like jinki   
> #when jongs not feelin repulsed sometimes he also joins in nd just uwu kissies taem and calls him cute and maybe gets an orgasm in for fun   
> #also sometimes if taem is lucky nd onjongho are all home and willing on the same day it Is kinda like full free use where they just   
> #tug him around nd frickie him wherever and he gets to be as hypersexy and free as he wants nd he just u w u feels warm and fuzzy inside   
> #lil breakfast blowjobs and snugglefricks on the couch and handjobs in front of the stove while hes makin lunch   
> #they are Good Days #and other times eunsook just doms him and teases him all day lmao


	24. a good time anyway (Hayrides)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka its not that fun but u know whatever)

“And on the left, you’ll see the Floriás family pond. Home to just ducks and frogs now, back in the day, you would often see the children taking a dip while their older siblings watched over them.”

Jonghyun barely turns his head to glance behind him at the small pond by the path. He’s seen it a million times. And he could see it better if he was walking on his own instead of being jostled around with every bump and sway of the hayride carriage. Next to him, nestled into a corner seat, Minjunggie doesn’t even move her head. Jonghyun thinks she’s doing that thing where she dozes off with her eyes open, staring blankly at the ground moving between the wooden slats of the carriage. Next to her, Taemin badly smothers a yawn in his hand. He’s been staring listlessly off of the side of the carriage for the passed twenty minutes, elbow on the wooden rim and chin in his hand, accidentally poking himself every time the wheels hit an extra big rock. He blinks slowly at the pond as it passes.

“Did you know that ducks have like… really fucked up genitals,” he mumbles, eyes shifting from a stray duck to the two of them. The tiniest hint of amusement flickers over Minjunggie’s face and Jonghyun snorts, the weakest exhale of laughter. He can’t even giggle at that fun fact like he usually does every time Taemin sees a duck and brings it up. He reaches over Minjunggie to pat Taemin’s leg tiredly with one hand, his other hand running smoothly down Roo’s back, her set leash wrapped safely around his wrist. He thinks she’s just as bored as they are, what with all of her quiet little snores.

“I don’t know why I thought this would be a good idea,” He mumbles back. He watches the tour guide continue to point out different parts of the ranch as they pass, telling history and lore to a small group of people that obviously haven’t read the little plaques all over a hundred times like Jonghyun has.

“You wanted to do something that would–” Taemin starts, and then stops himself with a grimace. “Fuck. Forget that,” he mumbles, and Jonghyun snorts. An actual tiny smile pulls up his lips as Taemin reaches to squeeze his hand in apology. “Sorry,” he says. Jonghyun pats his leg gently, Minjunggie tiredly patting his head.

“It’s whatever,” he mumbles back. He knows he wanted to take this hayride to distract himself from how sad not being able to pet any of the animals was making him. He figured something he’d never done before would interest him enough to take his mind off of it, but all that’s really happened is that now he’s so bored all he wants to think about is some magical coincidence that makes today a petting zoo day and doesn’t let anyone else in so it stays quiet and uncrowded. At least there’s barely anyone here. At least he can still enjoy this peaceful ranch on it’s off days when it’s not full of people. Unfortunately, those positive thoughts aren’t really making this ride any better.

“My butt itches,” he whispers, shifting on top of the hay bale he’s on. And he’s sure a few pieces have somehow wiggled their way into his shirt. He’s itchy.

“Same,” Minjunggie sighs back. She kicks some dirt on the bottom of the wagon and leans her head on her shoulder, long neck stretched way too far to be comfortable. Jonghyun pushes her head up gently, worried. Taemin folds up his jacket and gives it to Minjunggie to give her a better angle.

“Same also, and I have a boner,” he mumbles. He snakes his arms around one of Minjunggie’s to hold close, head resting on her free shoulder. His cheek smushes up and pulls his mouth into a little wiggle. “But it’s, like…,” he says, “a bad? Boner?” He glances back when the tour guide mentions something new and shrugs away just as quickly. “This whole ride is just… one big, weird, uneven, slightly painful, numbing vibration,” he grumbles. “I’m not even tingly.” Jonghyun pats his elbow gently as Minjunggie snorts. A true tragedy.

“I think it’s almost done, at least,” Minjunggie says, pointing lazily to the horse stables up ahead. Jonghyun glances up to confirm. The circle around the ranch is almost complete. Taemin hums, sitting up fully and stretching out.

“Good,” he mumbles. Jonghyun nods in agreement. Good indeed.

A few minutes later, Jonghyun hands Roo to Taemin on the ground so he can hold Minjunggie’s hands for balance as he steps off of the end of the hayride. Taking Roo back and nuzzling her soft head as soon as he gets his footing, he pouts at the horses as one of the handlers gently ushers them into their stalls to rest. They’re not the petting zoo horses. Even if he could pet their beautiful manes, they wouldn’t recognize him like Lola, Lulu, and Lava would. A soft mist starts falling from the grey sky; it makes Roo wiggle and whine and nuzzle the crook of his elbow. He sighs and first puts his hand on Minjung’s waist to steady her when she gets off, then leans his head against her shoulder.

“This was a waste of money, wasn’t it?” he asks quietly. This whole place just makes him sad now. They can’t even go to the restaurant for something to eat. They shouldn’t have come.

“I mean, for you two it was,” Minjunggie says. “I got in for free, remember?” She’s still sleepy and tired, but her grin is unmistakably smug when Jonghyun looks up at her. He shakes his head fondly, pushing her shoulder gently with his forehead. He forgot about that. He guesses this trip wasn’t all as bad as it could be. Who knew that Minjunggie would get roped into running a little science booth in the empty show barn for a bunch of field trip kids on the same day that he and Taemin decided to try visiting the ranch again.

“Do you think they’ve noticed that you left yet?” Taemin asks, leaning up on her other side. Minjunggie snorts.

“Trust me, Changmin knew I was gone the second I got up,” she mutters.

“Isn’t that Kyu?” Jonghyun asks, pointing a tiny finger over Roo’s head at someone with messy black hair. That’s walking through the picnic area between the stalls and the barn. Directly towards them.

“Oh,” Minjunggie says, “shit,” and Jonghyun sighs. Dang. He lets go of her arm and wiggles to Taemin’s side instead so he can be as far away from the slightly intimidating person that he barely knows as possible when he reaches them, and very attentively pets Roo’s fur out soft and smooth so he won’t have to look up.

“Is all of your science shit in the barn, like, kids only?” he hears Taemin ask. “Or can we, two botany enthusiasts, also come in and spend a disproportionately long time at… whichever booth is yours?” The cheek in his voice is obvious even to Jonghyun and he grins into Roo’s fur. That is a good plan. They can hang around in the back and eat some of the snacks the scientists brought along with them and bother Minjunggie while she works. Maybe coming here wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #paps minjungs soul shes just tryna do her sciency thing nd avoid crowds nd ppl   
> #and then she gets dragged into sitting behind a lil booth at a lil science faire at the ranch   
> #minjung: bluh idk why im even here i hate this   
> #kyu: u owed me a favor bc i bought u dinner that one time   
> #minjung: Thanks Kyuhyun For The Reminder   
> #jongtae are like lmao and pap her and let her go   
> #and then just slip into the barn and Casually slip behind her booth   
> #and just sit there and bug her the whole time lmao   
> #there are many ppl but jong curls up v small behind the booth and nuzzles minjungs leg and nuzzles roo and hides and its good   
> #taem nuzzles her and jong nuzzles her and minjung is so uwu uwu happy and kyus just like can u not im kinda ro repulsed here   
> #and jong2min are like lmao sorry   
> #but also minjung talks to changmin who talks to yunho who talks to leeteuk who talks to donghae who knows jonghyun   
> #and who knows how small and anxious he is and how he always used to Love the petting zoos and who feels bad that he cant anymore   
> #and he kinda lets jonghyun in to see some of the animals alone   
> #jong hugs all the lambs and cries a lil but its a happy cry and its Good


	25. doot doot (Fungi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka taems tryna identify a lil mushroom

Taemin stares at the mushroom peeping out of the ground. It’s a mediumish small thing, kind of wrinkly, a dull brown, and part of a little group that sprung up without his notice between his new plum tree and the fire pit. There’s only four or five in all and Taemin frowns, legs crossed under him as he sits under the dirt and stares. This is extremely odd. **  
**

“Who the fuck are you,” he mumbles, poking it with the tip of a leaf. He’s never seen this mushroom before. It looks kind of like a morel, cute and lovely, but there are no morels in fall. He knows. He double and triple checked on his phone ten minutes ago. No fall morels, but regular morels are delicious in a stir fry. And stir fries are great on chilly autumn nights. And there’s probably enough in the kitchen to make a chicken based one soon, if he picks up some extra things on the store next time he goes. Some onions, and peppers, maybe some mushrooms….

Mushrooms. Taemin shakes himself back into focus and goes back to staring at the little intruder in his garden. Right. This fucko. This dirty little imposter. He thinks.

“Will you murder me if I eat you,” he asks, pushing his fingers into the dirt around it and letting it fall out of his hands. Then he jumps, hissing sharply and sending dirt everywhere, when another pair of hands appear on his shoulders. “ _Fuck,”_  he breathes, turning to find Jonghyun smiling down at him apologetically. “Hi,” he says, tugging his headphones out of his ears so the mellow music he’d been half toning out is gone completely.

“Hi,” Jonghyun says back, voice small and sleepy. He sits down behind Taemin, spreading his legs out on either side and sliding his arms around his waist. Taemin turns back around so Jonghyun can press fully up against his back, warm and solid, his soft cheek on his shoulder. “Can you,” Jonghyun murmurs, “do something that doesn’t… require a lot of moving?” He presses the tiniest of kisses to Taemin’s neck; Taemin ignores the little fizzle that sent down south and reaches up to pet Jonghyun’s hair gently instead. This is sudden.

“Feeling okay?” he asks softly, finding Jonghyun’s hands linked around his stomach and covering them with his. Jonghyun hums a little noise against his sweater and nods his head.

“Mmhmm,” he hums. “Just. Lonely.” He wiggles closer and breathes deeply, not even hiding the fact that he’s sniffing Taemin’s skin.

“Ahh,” Taemin says, fond of his clingy little babe. “No Roo?” he asks.

“I couldn’t wake her up,” Jonghyun mumbles. “She was so… cute. I couldn’t be a monster.” He’s pouting against Taemin’s sweater now and Taemin laughs, patting Jonghyun’s hands again.

“Okay,” he says. He doesn’t think staring this mushroom down for the next half hour will include much moving at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #just u w u sitting there #in the dirt   
> #together   
> #having a nice time   
> #taem stares at the mushroom and then decides that if he doesnt know what it is then he probly shouldnt eat it anyway   
> #jonghyun agrees and taem kinda just digs it out and throws it in the compost bin   
> #rip in pieces lil fake morel   
> #i googled like actual fall mushrooms for this nd yall #mushrooms are wild   
> #anyway taem paps jong nd tells him that he just needs to pull some weeds from his crops and then they can go back inside   
> #so he shouldnt move much #''''but also theres been a squirrel around and if i see it i Will rush that lil fucker'''   
> #jongs like lmao okay #and just clings to taem and is very mmm uwu warm and snuggly   
> #its Good


	26. Bad Luck (Flannel)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka jong just wants to wear a cute flannel

Jonghyun is wet and cold, shivery and chilly as he stands in front of his bathroom mirror. He dried his hair already but stray drops  _still_ drip down his bare back and make him pout, reaching behind himself to pat them away. Grabbing his towel again, he squeezes gently around his head for what’s hopefully the last time before he picks up his blank tank top from where he had it hanging over the heater vent while he was in the shower. It’s lovely and warm and he smiles, smoothing it over his skin. Nice.

Cute black tank, cute pink boxers, cute dinosaur socks, cute blue hair, cute tan muscles, adorable fucking smile… Jonghyun winks at himself in the mirror and slips out of the bathroom.

The clock on his dresser tells him that it’s almost one, which is nice. Almost time for someone to decide to make lunch snacks and almost time for his nature documentaries. He pulls out one of his favorite pairs of jeans, black and studded and ripped along the thighs, and wiggles himself into them with a happy hum. He pulls open his shirt drawer next, but then he frowns. Hmm.

“Where’s…?” He mumbles, rifling through everything but not finding the cute red plaid flannel he wanted to wear. The one that makes him look like a babe among babes. He pouts and quickly looks through the other drawers, but doesn’t find it in there, either. It  _is_  Eunsookie’s; maybe she actually took it with her camping for once. Bluh. Whatever. She has more. He’ll go borrow one of them.

Hanging his towel around his shoulders, he steps into the hallway and shuffles his feet along the plush carpet until he reaches the third bedroom. He jiggles the doorknob to get it unstuck like usual and flicks the light on when he gets inside. Two steps in, a weak groan stops him and makes him jump. On the bed in the corner the covers and shifting up and covering whoever’s under there, but not before Jonghyun catches a flash of blonde hair. Oh. Frick. Whoops.

“Sorry,” he whispers, turning the light back off and watching Gwi grumble more under her blankets. He forgot. “Can I come in?” he asks like he’s not already inside. Can he  _stay_  in, more like. Either way, Gwi mumbles a tiny “sure” and Jonghyun breathes back a “thank you.” He creeps to Taemin and Eunsookie’s shared dresser, pulling open the fifth drawer and ruffling through the sparse contents. There’s no flannel in there, or in his hopeful check of Taemin’s shirt drawer, and he sighs. Damn it.

“What are you looking for?” Gwi’s voice is quiet and they’re just peeping at him from over her blankets. Jonghyun shrugs sadly and shuts the dresser drawer tightly.

“One of Eunsookie’s flannel buttonups,” he says. She’s been gone camping for almost a month and she should be back tomorrow, but he misses her _now._ He wants to be cute and plaid and warm in her clothes while she’s gone.

“Oh, I, um,” Gwi says, and lifts a hand out of the blankets with a guilty little look. “I took the last one out of there,” they say. They hold up her arm so Jonghyun can see it covered in a red flannel sleeve. She has the collar popped up too, now that Jonghyun is really looking. He pouts, but shuffles over so he can hold Gwi’s hand anyway. It’s super cute. “Sorry,” Gwi says, but Jonghyun shakes his head. It’s whatever. She deserves to feel cute more than he does today.

“How’s your head?” he asks, crouching down next to the bed and fixing her bangs gently. She shrugs.

“Better than it was with all of that rain and traffic,” they mumble. Jonghyun nods sympathetically. Right now the rain is no more than a gentle mist on soft leaves, but in the city it was a near hailstorm of sensory hell.

“Do you need anything?” he asks. Gwi shakes her head and sucks her hand back into the covers.

“Silence and darkness,” she mumbles. Jonghyun nods, amused, and pets her shoulder gently. He’ll come bring her food or something later when her head feels better. Slipping quietly through the door and closing it as gently as he can behind him, he heads further down the hallway to throw his towel in the laundry room before he goes off in search of another shirt. Maybe a hoodie so he can be small.

Shouldering open the laundry room door, he turns the corner and immediately sets his eyes upon a lovely, red, flannel buttonup. Unfortunately, his excitement dies as soon as it sparks when it registers that it’s already being worn. By Minjunggie, who he sadly leans on and nuzzles. Dang it.

“Hi,” she mumbles, patting his head casually. “Towel?”

“Mmhmm,” Jonghyun hums, handing it to her to toss in the washing machine. He leans passed her shoulder to peep inside. “Why are you doing laundry in the middle of a Monday?” he asks blandly. Laundry is usually a him and Taemin thing, and usually a Saturday morning thing. There’s only half a load in there and everything. Minjunggie shrugs sheepishly and shuts the door.

“I may or may not have spilled soda all over my lab coat,” she mumbles, and Jonghyun snorts.

“That’s what you get for wearing it literally all the time,” he says, grinning when she huffs and shoves him lightly. He shoves her back, then gently holds her wrist and rubs his thumb over the little hairs on her forearm. She has the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and the top few buttons undone and it’s really attractive and really not fair at all. He wants to be a babe like this. “Would you happen to have another one of these flannels?” he asks hopefully, looking up into her big brown eyes. They turn sympathetic, with a guilty little smile and a shake of the head, and he pouts. “Frick,” he mumbles.

“I took this from Sookie’s drawer, actually,” Minjunggie admits, fixing the hem of it around her hips. Jonghyun sighs. How lucky.

“Okay, well,” he says, and then just whines softly, leaning against her chest. She chuckles into his damp hair, giving his butt a quick pat before pushing him away.

“Sorry,” she says, but Jonghyun shakes his head. It’s not her fault. She pokes his cheeks, the corners of his lips, pushing them gently into a little upward curve. “I think I’m gonna go nap with Key after I finish this,” she says, patting the top of the washing machine. “If you wanted to join.” Jonghyun nods. A good plan. Gwi loves how Minjunggie smells. Maybe he’ll go lie with them both later, but now, he needs a shirt.

“Be extra quiet,” he tells her, and shuffles out of the laundry room.

He turns into the living room next, because he knows that Taemin is most likely in there, sprawled over the couch and watching his trashy judge shows. Maybe he has one stashed somewhere. Maybe there’s one in his hamper, day old dirty but not  _really actually_ dirty yet. Jonghyun still has hope. One last babe. One chance. One shot. One opport–

Taemin is wearing a red flannel button up.

Jonghyun wails dramatically, slouching in front of the couch and flopping down directly on top of Taemin. He wiggles to get comfortable on top of him, then just wiggles on him, cheek rubbing against the flannel as Taemin’s surprised hands shoot to his waist. He’s so upset.

“Bruh,” Taemin says, shifting so he’s sitting up more against the arm of the couch instead of fully lying down. “What?” he asks, an incredulous, amused breath. His finger taps under Jonghyun’s chin so Jonghyun looks up sadly, one hand papping the fuzzy material covering Taemin’s chest. It’s so lovely and good.

“Is this Eunsookie’s?” he asks. He adjusts the collar where Taemin has the top two buttons undone and pouts even harder when he deduces that Taemin isn’t wearing anything under it. He can’t just take it and leave a shirtless babe in the middle of the living room.

“Uh,” Taemin says, glancing down at it. “Yeah,” he says. Jonghyun wails again, less dramatically but still enough to be extra, and presses his whole face into Taemin’s chest.

“How come everyone gets an Eunsookie flannel but me,” he grumbles. Everyone else gets to miss their babe and wear her clothes to cope. This isn’t fair. Laughter vibrates through Taemin’s chest and his hand paps Jonghyun’s head gently.

“Sorry?” he offers, and Jonghyun shakes his head for the third time. He’s just unlucky today. He slides his hands around Taemin, wiggling them between his back and the couch, and breathes in deeply. At least like this he can smell and feel the flannel. That’s good. Shifting to get more comfortable, he feels something else, too, and snorts.

“You have a boner,” he grins, looking up to cock a brow at Taemin. Taemin smothers a sheepish smile in his hand and shrugs.

“I’m ignoring it,” he says. Jonghyun nods. Of course. “Anyway,” Taemin says, and wiggles to sit up even more. Jonghyun gets settled in his lap, fingers grumpily poking at his flannel. “I just remembered I was gonna make little sandwiches for everyone,” Taemin says. “Do you want grilled cheese or PB&J?” He taps his fingers on Jonghyun’s waist and Jonghyun gasps softly. Food. Nice.

“Can you make me peanut butter toast?” he asks. “With a banana, like, on the side.” He’ll eat the banana separate. He hates when it’s actually on the bread. Taemin shrugs, nods, pulls out his phone to write that down. Jonghyun pats his cute little cheek and wiggles off of him, pushing his fingers through his still damp hair. “I guess I’m gonna go find another shirt,” he sighs, stepping back so Taemin can stand as well. Definitely a hoodie so he can be small and cute. Taemin turns off the tv, pats his head, and slinks away to the kitchen.

Jonghyun sighs slowly, lifting his hands to rub his arms. He’s cold. He starts shuffling back to the hallway, resigned and dejected. Maybe he’ll scoop up Roo and have a sad nap with Minjunggie and Gwi before lunch. He rubs away goosebumps on his arms as he walks and barely notices the quiet rumbling approaching from outside. He assumes it’s someone’s truck rolling through the forest, looking to go camping or to find someone else’s house deeper in. He hopes they’re not lost.

Then the car stops. Jonghyun stops walking as well, just to make sure he heard right. Outside, there’s silence, and then the unmistakable sound of a door opening and closing. The unmistakable sound of  _Eunsookie’s_  truck door opening and closing. Jonghyun breathes in a slow, excited gasp of disbelief as he watches her silhouette move passed the curtained window and then hears her key jiggling in the door.

“What the fuck,” he whispers, and then the front door opens to reveal Eunsookie, damp, tired, cold Eunsookie, pushing her keys back into her pocket and leaning on the door to close it behind her. Her jeans are worn, her boots are dirty, and her beanie is lopsided on her head, but despite all of that, she blinks when she sees Jonghyun staring at her and her mouth curves up into a pleased little smile.

“Hi,” she says, “I’m back,” and holds one arm out for Jonghyun to take. Jonghyun shakes himself out of his daze quickly and scuttles over to her, happily letting her tug him close and snuggling up on her solid chest. She’s back.

“Hi,” he smiles into her shirt. This is so important. She’s back a whole day early and she smells wonderful, like sweat and dirt and camp stove gas and wood with just a hint of fresh, clean cotton. That part is extra important. The most important. He rubs his cheek against the material of her lovely, lovely, lovely flannel shirt, red and plaid, thick lines, black buttons, the occasional square of blue. This is exactly the shirt he was looking for in the first place.

“Can I have your shirt?” he asks, lifting his eyes to hers and tugging gently at the hem of it. An incredulous laugh slips from Eunsookie’s mouth. She looks down at it, back up at him with a raised brow.

“One step in the door and you want me out of my clothes?” she asks. Jonghyun’s cheeks pink at what she’s trying to imply but he holds onto her shirt, wiggling insistently.

“Listen, it’s just, really important to me, okay?” he says, giggling when she pokes gently at his neck to tickle him and make him blush further. He doesn’t even mind her cheating, as long as she gives up the flannel. “Please?” he asks, doing his best to pout under her soft fingers and softer gaze. After a moment, Eunsookie shrugs, smiles, lifts her hands to the buttons.

“Sure,” she says. “I was gonna shower anyway.” She pops open the flannel and Jonghyun bounces on his toes with joy. This is so good. So wonderful, so lovely, so perfect. She shrugs the flannel off of her strong arms and Jonghyun takes it eagerly, smile as wide as his face as he slips his own arms into the sleeves. This is what dreams are made of. He is a small warm snuggly cupcake as he buttons the flannel up all the way and hugs himself in it.

“Where’s Tae?” Eunsookie asks him then. “I have to touch his butt.” She tugs her beanie off of her head too and Jonghyun smiles fondly at her mussed hair.

“Making lunch,” he says, sucking his hands into the flannel sleeves and poking one tiny finger to the kitchen. He’s so fucking cute he can barely stand it. “Gwi and Minjunggie are here too, but, like,  _shhh,”_  he says, putting that same small finger to his lips. Eunsookie nods, grabbing his finger gently. She pushes the flannel sleeve down, kisses the back of his hand, and pats his butt as she leaves to go check the kitchen. Jonghyun stands there and smiles, pulling the flannel collar up to cover his face. This is the best day of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #t h e r e i t i s   
> #hes only exaggerating a lil bit about the best day of his life thing   
> #he is soooooooo snuggly and warm and lovely   
> #they snuggle together and eat their lil sammiches and flop on the couch and watch jongs garbage documentaries   
> #and theyre all in flannel and eunsook just looks at them all like is this rly my symbol??? red plaid???   
> #and everyones like lmao yeah   
> #she cant find anything to complain about tbh   
> #jong just wants to be a rugged forest lesbian   
> #and by a rugged forest lesbian he means a smol cute cabin pansexual   
> #but its the Concept   
> #once in a blue moon when his gender stuff and his fluid stuff and his ace stuff all align Just Right   
> #he is a lesbian and that totes counts and he wants to flannel to validate him   
> #and also bc its warm and it makes him look like a babe thats also important

**Author's Note:**

> #taem doesnt Rly wanna fuckie the ground he just Rly Rly likes dirt bc it feels so nice nd smells so good  
> #he does tho wanan fuckie everyone else except gwi bc gwis sex repulsed ass cant handle any sex things nd he is not an anus  
> #he also has add nd memory problems nd half the time he forgets to set reminders to remind him to do things but hes doing his best  
> #jong is v uwu cute nd does music nd lounges around in his lil music room composing nd writing nd testing out melodies  
> #he also has memory problems but not as bad as taem  
> #minjung is u w u the cutest forest scientist goin out collecting samples nd studying cells nd being very very tal  
> #eunsook is a rugged lumberjack camper pansexual  
> #thats what it says on her fake business cards nd she just (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖) and goes out camping nd hunting like all the time  
> #and gwi is a smol quiet headache that lives in the big city and works as a theatre manager  
> #she does all the schedules and makes sure everything is running okay and tells ppl what to do #and if shes having a bad head day then she just Escapes to the quiet forest nd emails ppl instead nd its good  
> #also taem is also manager of a lil plant store in the small town outside the forest but usually he just calls in to check up  
> #sometimes he goes out there to manage in person but usually he just meh and chills at home  
> #nd jong like Never leaves the forest tbh he can not handle people and cars and noises and the smells and it just overloads him so much  
> #his sweet lil soul cant handle it so he just uwu lives in the forest with his babes  
> #mostly with just taem nd they snuggle lots nd its good


End file.
